Exclusive: Birmingham City questioned for "emotional" Jay Stansfield signing | OneFootball

Joe Jacobson has told FLW his verdict on the £15 million price it took to sign Jay Stansfield at Birmingham City

Joe Jacobson has claimed Birmingham City’s decision to sign Jay Stansfield for £15 million was unnecessary and emotional.

The forward arrived for a League One record fee of £15 million last summer, according to Sky Sports.

The ex-Fulham player had spent the previous campaign on loan at St. Andrew’s as the team suffered relegation from the Championship.

The 22-year-old has scored 16 times from 27 appearances in the league so far this season, with the Blues sitting comfortably at the top of the third division table.

Jay Stansfield price tag verdict

Jacobson has suggested Birmingham would be in a strong promotion position regardless of whether they’d signed Stansfield or not.

The ex-Wycombe Wanderers player won’t go so far as to say it was a bad decision to spend that much on the forward, but the now Talksport and Sky Sports pundit believes that it was not necessary in order to achieve a place back in the Championship.

“It’s very difficult to comment on Jay Stansfield’s price tag because he’s worth what someone is willing to pay for him,” Jacobson exclusively told Football League World.

“Now, do I believe League One players should be bought for £15 million? No.

“Do I think they needed to spend £15 million on one player? No.

“I believe they would’ve got promoted whether Jay Stansfield was there or not.

“Yes, he’s a very good player, yes he’s got everything you’d want from a centre-forward, he’s scored a lot of goals.

“But, with the strike power they’ve got, with [Lyndon] Dykes, with [Lukas] Jutkiewicz, with [Alfie] May, some of the other forward players like Keshi Anderson, [Willum Thor] Willumsson, they’ve got an abundance of talent out there that should’ve got them promoted anyway.

“Yes, it was an emotional signing because of what he did there previously, with the new owners making a statement.

“But look, they’ve got the money and they wanted to do it.

“I don’t think there's necessarily an issue, I just don’t think it was necessary to do so.”

Birmingham need just 16 points from their final 10 games to secure the League One title and automatic promotion.

Next year will be a big test for Stansfield’s price tag

Stansfield was never going to justify his price tag in his first year back at the club, as promotion was always so likely with the rest of the squad at Chris Davies’ disposal.

The big test of his value will come with the team back in the Championship, as he will be tasked with spearheading a competitive side that’s nowhere near a relegation scrap.

His previous stint in the second tier with Birmingham saw him score 12 times from 43 appearances, and he will have to at least match that record, if not improve on it.

The £15 million price tag was certainly a strong show of ambition from the club’s new owners, and it’s likely there will be more big spending this summer.