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GOOD MOVE: Birmingham City In Tense Talk To Sign Another Star Worth £6m, All Set
“£6m bid may be too much” – Sunderland and Jay Stansfield as Birmingham City make move
However, according to Football Insider, Birmingham City are planning to open talks over re-signing Jay Stansfield from Fulham.
Sunderland are set to step up their interest in signing a striker this summer ahead of the upcoming Championship season.
The forward signed for the Blues last year on loan, but his goals were unable to help the Midlands outfit avoid relegation to League One.
The Black Cats were linked with a move for Stansfield, who instead opted to make the switch to St. Andrew’s on a temporary basis.
Jay Stansfield’s importance to Birmingham
| Jay Stansfield’s stats 2023/24 – per Fbref.com | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stat | Per 90 | ||
| Non-penalty goals | 0.32 | ||
| Non-penalty expected goals (npxG) | 0.25 | ||
| Shots | 2.62 | ||
| Assists | 0.05 | ||
| Expected assists (xAG) | 0.11 | ||
| npxG + xAG | 0.36 | ||
| Shot-creating actions | 2.32 | ||
He contributed 12 goals and two assists from 43 appearances in the second division, as Birmingham came 22nd in the table, six points behind 16th place Sunderland (all stats from Fbref).
Sunderland will be hoping to add to their frontline this summer, as they look to bridge the gap to the play-offs under new head coach Régis Le Bris.
Stansfield pursuit makes sense for Sunderland
Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on whether the Wearside outfit should pursue a move for Stansfield amid reported interest from Birmingham.
Declan Harte
Sunderland could arguably use the signing of more than one forward option this summer, as their young and inexperienced options haven’t yet proven themselves.
Mason Burstow has departed back to Chelsea, and the trio of Nazariy Rusyn, Luis Semedo and Eliezer Mayenda scored just twice between them in the Championship last season.
So bringing in Stansfield on loan should be something they consider this summer.
A permanent deal will depend on how much money they have to spend, which could also be determined by player sales, so that will have to be weighed up too.
Regardless of how a deal could be done, he would bolster their attacking options for the season ahead.
He scored 12 goals in a struggling Birmingham side last year, which is a significantly better record than the options currently at Sunderland’s disposal.
And given the creative talent around him, he may even be capable of even more in a side fighting in the top half of the table.
Being able to offer Championship football could convince him to move to the Stadium of Light instead of staying with Birmingham, so it is worth pushing this summer to see if a deal can be found to bring him into the fold.
