Fulham's latest Jay Stansfield stance revealed amid Birmingham City, Hull City transfer talk | OneFootball

The Cottagers' striker is being targeted by a number of EFL clubs.

Fulham are reportedly open to letting Jay Stansfield leave Craven Cottage on loan if a good enough offer comes in, following links to Birmingham City and Hull City.

Stansfield's future, whether he stays put, leaves for now, or goes forever, is yet to be decided on, according to the Standard.

He is currently away with his parent Premier League club on their pre-season tour of the Algarve, in Portugal. Before heading out on to the continent, he scored one of his side's six goals in their emphatic behind closed doors win over Watford at their Motspur Park training ground.

Fulham boss Marco Silva has spoken in the past about the natural progression for the forward to be a jump up to playing in the top flight of English football.

said Silva, via the Standard, in early May.

However, that hasn't stopped a number of clubs queuing up to try and sign him this summer, after his impressive loan spell with Birmingham last time out.

He scored 12 league goals for the eventually relegated Blues, who want him to come back to St Andrew's, but they will face competition from teams in their former league.

All the while, Stansfield's parent club are yet to fully decide what they want to do with him.

Fulham open to loan move for Jay Stansfield

The Standard have reported that the Cottagers are still open to letting the 21-year-old striker temporarily leave the club.

Birmingham were reported to be in talks with the London-based side over a £6 million deal for Stansfield, and selling the player is also not out of the question.

He came through Fulham's academy system, so any money they receive from offloading him permanently would be a big help to their profit and sustainability standings.

If Birmingham were to acquire him for the reported amount, it would be the most expensive purchase of a player ever made by a League One team.

Hull Live's Barry Cooper said, on the 1904 Club podcast, that the Tigers would pursue a move for Stansfield if he became available on a temporary basis. Hull's interest in him is a long-standing one, as per Cooper.

Cardiff City have also been linked, by the BBC, with having a tentative interest in Stansfield.

Birmingham and Hull may need to offer ludicrous bids to get Stansfield sooner rather than later

With the money that the two EFL sides have, although they would appear to be after two different types of deals for the forward, they may leave Silva with no other choice if they put in an offer which forces them to sanction his departure.

However, as much as it may annoy these chasing sides, Fulham have no need to make a quick decision on Stansfield's future.

This pre-season trip to Portugal will give the boss more time to look at the player and see where he thinks the 21-year-old fits in the striking pecking order.

Most of their forwards aren't of Stansfield's ilk. They're more classic number nines, whereas the former Blues and Exeter City loanee is much more maleable, positionally. He could be a very strong asset for them to have.

Silva seems to think of him fairly highly, and his contract situation, which schedules him to be a Fulham player until the summer of 2027, means that the top flight side have all the power.

If either of these sides want him for the start of the EFL campaign, they may need to really surprise Fulham with a shockingly good offer.