Sport
Is This the Craziest Deal of the Season? Birmingham Makes Bold Move
Don Goodman has claimed that Birmingham City have paid well over the odds to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham.
According to The Athletic, the Blues have paid £15 million to sign the forward, with an additional £5 million potentially owed in add-ons.
The Midlands outfit have shown their ambition with the permanent signing of the 21-year-old, who spent last season on loan at St. Andrew’s.
Stansfield has yet to play for the team since re-signing on deadline day, but it is hoped that he can power the team back to the Championship this year.
Chris Davies’ side currently sits fourth in the League One table, having won three of their four opening games, drawing the other.
| 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 | ||
Don Goodman gives Birmingham verdict
According to The Athletic, the Blues have paid £15 million to sign the forward, with an additional £5 million potentially owed in add-ons.
Goodman has praised Birmingham’s overall start to the new campaign, and predicts they will get even better as the season goes on.
However, he has suggested that the fee paid to sign Stansfield was over the top, claiming it was a great deal for Fulham.
“It’s mind-blowing,” said Goodman.
“There’s no doubt that there’s a Birmingham City tax on that fee.
“As high as I rate Jay Stansfield, I think it’s completely over the top.
“If you’re the selling club and someone is prepared to pay crazy money for one of your players, you have to take it.
“It’s a great deal for Fulham but I do think it’s a great move for Jay Stansfield.
“He’ll score a bucket load of goals in this league and Birmingham should win the title.
“It’s been a solid start for them, made difficult by the fact that they’re everybody’s cup final.
“Birmingham are only going to get better, too.
“On Saturday only two players who were at the club last season started, they were Ethan Laird and Krystian Bielik.
“It’s a completely new team.
“The worry for the rest of the division is how good they’ll be once the players get used to playing with each other and once they understand what Chris Davies wants.
“I think they have a similar ambition to what Ipswich had, where they’ve signed Championship-ready players in League One, allowing them to compete in the Championship once they get there.
“It’s a good ambition and, as long as they’re complying with financial regulations, why wouldn’t you splash the cash if you can afford?”
Birmingham City league position
Birmingham won three of their four opening games of the campaign, but missed last weekend’s action due to the international break, so sit fourth in the table.
This means that the Blue have played a game fewer than league leaders Wrexham, who are three points clear.
Davies’ side will host the Red Dragons next Monday in what will be a hotly anticipated clash at the top of the table.
Birmingham’s aim will be automatic promotion this year, but they are likely to face stiff competition in what will be a tough League One season.
Stansfield fee rightly earned a lot of attention for Birmingham
Spending £15 million on a forward in League One is ludicrous, and the club has rightly been criticised for it by a lot of people.
It’s hard to justify that being worth it, even if Stansfield helps them get promotion this year.
While he proved a useful forward in the Championship, and he likely should be playing at that level this year, £15 million is quite obviously an overpay for Birmingham.
Giving in to Fulham’s demands on deadline day is not a good precedent to set, and clubs will look to exploit that again in the future when they come looking to sign players in other transfer windows.
