Birmingham City's Tony Mowbray makes Jay Stansfield admission after Sunderland and Ipswich Town interest | OneFootball

Birmingham City boss Tony Mowbray has revealed that "one or two" clubs pushed very hard to try and lure Jay Stansfield away from St Andrew's this month, making this admission to Birmingham Live.

Stansfield, who spent last season on loan at Exeter City, has made the step up to the Championship seamlessly and has been a key player for John Eustace and Wayne Rooney, standing out as one of the club's best bits of summer business.

Mowbray will be hoping to striker, who is currently on loan from Fulham, can be just as effective for him. The 60-year-old has an excellent record of developing young players, so you would back the forward to thrive from now until the end of the season, if he can avoid injury issues.

However, Mowbray could have missed out on the opportunity to work with Stansfield, with the latter generating plenty of interest this month because of how well he has progressed in the Midlands.

Registering nine goals and three assists in 28 competitive appearances this term, it's no surprise that teams at the top end of the division took an interest in the 21-year-old, who could have been recalled by the Cottagers before being sent elsewhere for the remainder of the campaign.

He could have played for another club because he didn't play for his parent club this term, even if he did appear on the bench for Marco Silva's side during the early stages of the 2023/24 campaign before his switch to Blues.

Mowbray on Stansfield: "One or two Championship clubs pushing really hard to try and make that happen"

In his pre-match press conference, Blues boss reinforced just how much interest there was in the 21-year-old.

He told Birmingham Live: "I personally was always confident that he was not in danger of leaving. I think he’s an exceptionally professional footballer. He works really hard at his job.

"I had one or two conversations with him, I felt he was in a good place, scoring goals, working hard and he enjoys what we’re trying to do with the team.

"I didn’t sit there thinking he was going to be leaving on that last day. There was one or two Championship clubs pushing really hard to try and make that happen.

"Huge credit to the boy himself, who felt this club had given him an opportunity to play Championship football and he has proven he can do it.

"We’re delighted that decision has come and gone, and he’s going to be here for the remainder of the season."

Ipswich Town and Sunderland suffer major blow

Ipswich Town and Sunderland were both previously linked with a move for Stansfield - and that isn't a shock considering George Hirst's injury for the former and the latter's need to bring in a goalscorer.

The Tractor Boys are in a strong position - but the addition of Stansfield could also have made a difference for them and it's a shame for them that they were unable to get a deal over the line for him in the end.

The Black Cats could have also richly benefitted from having the striker at their disposal - and he could have been responsible for saving Michael Beale's job.

But the Wearside club will now have to find an alternative, with less than a week of the window left to go.