Fulham “Motives” On The Deal, Birmingham City Boss Breaks Silence, Here Is What He Said

Jay Stansfield transfer: Chris Davies answers Birmingham City question after Fulham clarity

Suitors of Fulham striker Jay Stansfield are having to look elsewhere – for now at least – after Marco Silva made his position on the player clear.

Birmingham City have registered an interest in re-signing Stansfield, who scored 13 goals for the club on loan last term, despite their relegation to League One. New Blues boss Chris Davies has transformed his squad with 11 new arrivals and Stansfield would be the icing on the cake in this transfer window.

But Fulham manager Silva has other ideas. When asked about Stansfield’s situation last week, the Portuguese said: “Everything that we planned for Jay in the last two seasons – and this is going to be the third – happened. Last season in the Championship he was one of the best players at Birmingham and scored the goals we expected him to score. There has been a lot of approaches from Championship clubs but I have decided he is going to be part of our squad.

“In Portugal he didn’t play because he had a small issue in one training session and we had to protect him. Last Saturday he played two friendlies, one in the afternoon against Hoffenheim and he played in the morning too. I can say to you he scored as well. He is going to be a player for Fulham football club. There is nothing more to say. We can keep receiving approaches, OK, but our idea is to keep him in our squad.”

Stansfield was a substitute in Fulham’s defeat to Manchester United on the opening day of the Premier League season. Blues manager Davies was asked for an update on the club’s pursuit of the striker at the weekend.

He said: “There’s no update from my side. He’s obviously a player that did excellently here last season and a very good player and that’s all there is to it for now.”

With that in mind, here is a rundown of everything that has happened in the Stansfield saga to date…

What Stansfield has said

At the club’s end of season awards dinner, Stansfield confirmed how much he’d enjoyed himself in a Blues shirt despite relegation, and he also predicted that the club would return to its rightful place quickly, setting aside the disappointment of the drop so early into Knighthead’s highly ambitious project.

“Going up there and knowing my teammates have voted for me, and the supporters, I just felt sad to be leaving,” Stansfield said. “It’s one of those things, I signed up for a season’s loan and I’ve loved every minute and learnt a lot. I think I’ve just built up such a relationship with the fans and the club that I wanted to give my all in every game. The goal early on helped. I earned my respect on the first day and could show everyone why I chose Birmingham.

“We came up short in the end and everyone around the club is feeling hurt. I think the club will be back where it belongs very soon. Hopefully next season they can push on. Being around the city and seeing the fans, and seeing how welcoming and hard-working everybody is, there are amazing people everywhere round here.”

What Blues have said

Davies addressed the Stansfield situation in greater depth at the beginning of August and didn’t shy away from the fact Blues are interested in the forward. He said: “He’s a player that won all the awards last year, and when I analysed the team before I came in he was the stand-out player.

“He’s gone back to a really good Premier League club that obviously value him highly and they have their own plans and their own ambitions. If he became available and we could do it, it would be something that would be really exciting for everyone. But everyone knows it will be a challenge to do that.”

The domino effect

Fulham’s stance could soften if they need some cash to sign a target of their own. Stansfield is clearly a saleable asset and they have a willing buyer at the other end of the phone in Blues.