Birmingham City star Jay Stansfield may be relieved at Che Adams transfer revelation | OneFootball

Stansfield is set to be a star name at St Andrew's for years to come

With preparation for next season now firmly on the agenda at Birmingham City, it hasn't come to many people's surprise that the club has already been linked with a handful of exciting potential transfer swoops.

Such is the rapid pace at which Tom Wagner and Knighthead Capital Management are looking to carry out the remainder of their initial rebuilding job at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, it is expected that Blues will challenge the likes of Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton when it comes to their summer transfer activity.

Last summer, the B9 outfit set the bar to a whole new high in League One, as relegation only enhanced the drive of Wagner, Tom Brady, Craig Gardner and Chris Davies to assemble a squad capable of blowing the division out of the water, which it would be with an astounding 111-point haul and 34 wins in 46 games, as well as competing immediately when second-tier status was secured.

The striking department at Davies' disposal is certainly in an intriguing position when it comes to discussion, as Alfie May looks set for the Championship for the first time in his career after scoring 82 goals in the past four seasons at third-tier level, whilst Lyndon Dykes has endured a frustrating season on the whole despite his one glorious moment against Bradford City in the EFL Trophy semi-final.

One player whose position in Davies' side was never up for debate was Jay Stansfield, who now may be feeling an even greater sense of relief as talk over a potential reunion with former Tilton favourite, Che Adams, was quashed.

Che Adams reunion would have signalled greater Birmingham City intent

Adams has proven time and time again throughout his career why he was so prolific at Championship and Premier League level with Birmingham and Southampton, as the latter invested £15m - a club-record sale for Blues - at the time after a 22-goal haul alongside cult hero, Lukas Jutkiewicz under Garry Monk back in 2018/19.

His ability to link-up well with fellow forwards and creative midfielders alongside being able to stretch defences has caused defenders plenty of havoc over the years, and that hasn't stopped this season either, as the Leicester-born frontman went continental for the first time in his career, scoring nine goals and registering three assists in his first 34 games for Torino.

Ever since Davies' side began to soar towards promotion and the title, the calibre of players they would be able to attract due to differing regulations surrounding PSR in the second-tier had been discussed at length, before an exclusive revelation from FLW regarding a £30,000 per week contract offer for Kwame Poku and talk of a high-profile reunion with the Scotland frontman gave some pretty strong indications at the very least.

Unsurprisingly, given his previously stellar contribution at St Andrew's in what was a testing period for all connected with the club, Adams isn't short of admirers within the building. However, the aforementioned revelations of a potential return to this part of the Second City were put to bed recently by Birmingham Live, as Davies looks to set his sights on other targets.

Jay Stansfield may be relieved as Che Adams reunion talk quashed

Whilst Stansfield hadn't spent the entire season operating at the centre of Blues' formidable attack, the former Fulham man may be feeling relieved that it would take a set of extraordinary circumstances to play out for the 33-time international to sign on the dotted line and, as would be expected given his stature, immediately fall into the club's strongest possible lineup.

The 22-year-old has shown great mental resolve to deal with the pressure of his well-documented club-record price-tag, recently revealing his initial struggles,as well as the help of specialists at the club that would see the cream eventually rise to the top.

Outsiders have so often questioned why Blues forked out an eight-figure sum and dished out a seven-year contract for the former Exeter City man who ended the season as League One's second-highest scorer with 19 goals - nine of which came from 12 yards out.

However, his movement, awareness and composure shown for the 10 which have come from open play have been outstanding, adding to his calmness in pressure-cooker situations from the spot.

Backing this up with the fact that none of his 12 goals in the chaotic 2023/24 campaign were penalties will certainly give the England youth international further incentive to continue his role as the 'poster boy' in the early stages of Wagner and Davies' rebuild, which, for those of a royal blue persuasion, hopefully culminates with a long-awaited Premier League return and a new 60,000-capacity stadium.