It's no surprise to see Birmingham City join Sunderland in Notts County transfer hunt | OneFootball

Notts County's Macaulay Langstaff has attracted the attention of Championship outfit Birmingham City, but competition will be fierce for the striker's signature.

Langstaff made headlines last year during Notts County's tightly-contested battle with Wrexham for the National League title, the 26-year-old often pitted against Wrexham's talisman Paul Mullin.

He has carried that form over into League Two, still scoring goals for fun at the higher level, and he could now be set for a move further up the pyramid, with a host of Championship, League One and Scottish Premiership sides interested, as reported by HITC.

Birmingham City are one of those sides that have joined the race, and the County man could make an ideal replacement for Jay Stansfield, currently on loan from Fulham, who's plan for the remainder of the season is yet to be confirmed.

It has been a somewhat meteoric rise for the 26-year-old, starting out at Middlesbrough's academy in his youth before a stuttering start in non-league when making the switch to senior football.

A move to York City saw him find his shooting boots in the 2018/19 season, but his real breakout came in his move to Gateshead, where in the 2021/22 National League North season he fired 28 goals in 39 games.

That earned him another move up the pyramid, this time to Notts County. Over the past two seasons so far, spanning the National League and League Two, Langstaff has notched 61 league goals in 72 games.

The late-blooming rise from non-league has predictably led to comparisons with Jamie Vardy, who had a similar rise later in his career and went on to be a prolific goalscorer in the Premier League.

Many are now wondering where the ceiling is for the forward, and interest from teams higher in the pyramid is unlikely to dissipate with a scoring record like his.

Stansfield has had a similarly productive season so far, albeit at a higher level, leading to some fears that he could be recalled by parent club Fulham and potentially sent to promotion contenders Ipswich Town.

Blues boss Tony Mowbray is confident that the 21-year-old wants to stay at St Andrew's for the remainder of the season, but the decision may well be taken out of his hands.

If Fulham were to recall the young striker, then Langstaff could be the ideal replacement. Despite being unproven at Championship level, the Magpies forward has taken every jump up the leagues in his stride so far.

A return to the North East is on the cards, with Sunderland also in the race for his signature, a move that may suit him better personally to be closer to family and friends.

With HITC reporting that the Nottinghamshire side have placed a £1.5million price tag on their star man, and having only signed a new long-term contract last summer, the deal is unlikely to come cheap to any interested party.

It may be a longer-term option for Birmingham that's best left until summer

The understandably high price tag attached to Langstaff may make a January move too difficult, as those at Meadow Lane would surely seek further compensation for the loss of their talisman in the middle of the season, potentially derailing their promotion hopes.

Whilst it is not yet known whether loanee Stansfield will be recalled, it is a certainty that his temporary deal will expire at the end of the season and the Blues will be in need of a replacement at that point.

Throughout the summer, with time to reorganise their own squad, Notts will likely be easier to negotiate with and, though still expensive, the premium may be slightly lower.

In an ideal world, Birmingham would keep hold of Stansfield until the end of this season, before embarking on deliberations with Notts over Langstaff in the off-season.

They will face fierce competition, but Langstaff's history shows he knows how to adjust quickly to a higher level of football, and a truly lethal finisher is a rare commodity in football, so it would be no shock to see him as one of their top summer targets.