Birmingham City: New update on Jay Stansfield pursuit after Fulham cameo | OneFootball

An update has emerged on the Blues' pursuit of their former loan player

Highlights

Birmingham City are turning their attention away from Fulham striker Jay Stansfield in the transfer market.

That's according to a report from The Daily Mirror, who do, however, say that the Blues have not fully ruled out a reunion with the 21-year-old.

Stansfield is, of course, no stranger to the Blues, having spent the 2023/24 season on loan at St Andrew's.

He enjoyed an impressive individual campaign with Birmingham, but was ultimately unable to prevent the club suffering relegation from the Championship to League One.

As a result, it seems as though the chances of the striker returning to the Midlands for this season and beyond are now diminishing.

Birmingham stance on Jay Stansfield deal emerges

Despite their relegation, the Fulham striker has seemingly remained a priority target for the Blues this summer.

Indeed, recent reports had suggested that they would use money raised from the sale of Jordan James to make a second bid for Stansfield, after an initial offer was rejected.

However, speaking earlier this week, Fulham manager Marco Silva suggested he wants the striker to remain at Craven Cottage, and it seems he may now be about to do that.

According to this latest update, Birmingham's relegation to League One, and the Cottagers' valuation of Stansfield, mean a return to St Andrew's is looking more unlikely for the striker.

Even so, it is claimed the Blues have not fully closed the door on a reunion with the 21-year-old, who would apparently be open to a return to the club.

However, Chris Davies' side are nonetheless said to be turning their attention to other potential targets regardless, given the challenge they face to re-sign Stansfield.

As things stand, there are still three years remaining on the striker's contract with Fulham, with the club also holding the option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.

That effectively secures his future at Craven Cottage until the end of the 2027/28 season, and gives the Premier League side plenty of scope to respond to any offers that come in for him this summer.

Stansfield was used as a stoppage time substitute by Fulham on Friday night, as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford in the opening game of the Premier League season.

It is hard not to feel as though this is an update that will not go down all that well with Birmingham City supporters.

Stansfield was one of the few players to come out of last season with any credit for the Blues, and so bringing him back would have been a popular move.

Indeed, having impressed in a struggling Championship side in the previous campaign, he could well have thrived in League One this time round.

With Alfie May now also on the books after his summer move from Charlton Athletic, that would have given Birmingham an incredibly dangerous attack at this level.

However, the Blues cannot afford to chase Stansfield all summer at the risk of missing out on another centre-forward that still looks to be needed for Chris Davies' side.