Jay Stansfield: Birmingham City striker – missing play-offs a learning curve

Stansfield’s goal against Preston was his 11th of the season and first since 7 February.

After moving for a tier-three record £15m from Fulham at the end of August 2024, the 23-year-old scored 19 goals as Blues romped to the League One title with an EFL-record 111 points.

This season, after helping England defend their European Under-21 Championship title last summer, Stansfield’s return has reflected his move into a slightly deeper position behind the main striker under Chris Davies in recent weeks.

“I think the season’s been up and down for me,” Stansfield said. “It was a long summer, obviously with the Euros, and I think I’ve not scored the goals I wanted to score.

“But I’ve made sure I’ve turned up when times have been tough and I’ve gone out and stuck my chest out and just got on with it.

“I can’t thank the gaffer enough for still having faith in me to go out and be able to deliver in different ways.

“I try every season to score more goals than I did the season before and obviously last season was my best season but I feel this season I’ve been able to contribute in different ways, get goals, get assists as I’m playing a different role at the moment as the third midfielder.

“It’s sort of a new position for me and I’m looking forward to cracking that and going again next season.”