”Pressure on him” - George Friend issues Jay Stansfield claim ahead of Birmingham City v Bristol Rovers | OneFootball

Friend is happy to see his former teammates son doing so well.

Former Birmingham City midfielder turned Bristol Rovers director of football George Friend has said that Jay Stansfield has done well to deal with the pressure that's been put on him ahead of the clash between the two sides this weekend.

It's hard to say whether the former Fulham striker, who Birmingham paid £15 million for this summer, smashing the League One transfer record, has fully justified his massive price tag, but he's certainly delivered for Blues in a big way.

He single-handedly delivered three points for City in their last game against Barnsley, scoring twice in the second half, guiding his side to a 2-1 win.

With the amount of money that was paid for him, it was only natural that a lot was going to be expected of him. He's someone who has had to deal with a lot of adversity in his 22 years on this earth already, and this challenge hasn't phased him.

George Friend heaps praise on Jay Stansfield

Birmingham take on the Gas on Saturday at St Andrew's. Rovers are close to the relegation zone, while City aren't far off the top, so this could be another chance for Stansfield to feast.

As much as he is happy for what he has achieved, Friend won't be rooting for the 22-year-old this weekend. He has, however, commended the striker for how he has handled his mega-money move to Blues.

Speaking on the Keep Right On podcast, the Gas' director of football said: "He obviously did amazingly well all the way up through at Exeter (City) and then to move to Fulham. You've got to be a good player to move at the age he did.

"And then in more recent history to bang a goal in the top corner (against Barnsley). I was actually on the pitch at the time when Fulham played Blues. I think it was in one of the cups. So I spoke to him after that game and I got his shirt actually, which is quite a nice nostalgic thing for me. I've still got that shirt here at home.

"I didn't know at that point he'd be a Blues player one day, but it's nice it's worked out that way and he's going to be incredibly important for the club going forward.

"I'd say then he probably had a good chance, if that's the story you're looking for, when he's running past most people and hitting it in the top corner, that's quite good evidence that he was going to be a good player.

"He's humble and he's relatively quiet when I've been in his company. I haven't shared a changing room with him, but he gets on the pitch, he has that side to him, but also he has a confidence in himself. And that's probably the most important thing, especially for a striker, he shows that confidence and delivers.

"He's had pressure on him coming in the way he has at Blues but he's delivered and credit to him for that because that's not easy."

Jay Stansfield will continue to deliver big for Birmingham

Stansfield is simply better than pretty much every other player in League One. That's not some wild contradictory statement, either, and it shouldn't be for a player who is worth £15 million playing in the English third division.

The only other player in the league who has a claim to being better than Stansfield is Louie Barry, and he's not expected to be with Stockport County for too much longer.

Luckily for Birmingham, they signed Stansfield to a seven-year contract in the summer, so there is no threat of him leaving any time soon. And guess what, he's going to continue to score big goals for the club, because he is simply better than everyone else.