Jay Stansfield (born 24 November 2002) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. He began his football career with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, joined Fulham as a 16-year-old, and spent the 2022–23 season on loan at Exeter City. He has represented England at under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels.

Club career

Fulham

Son of former Yeovil Town,

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

and

footballer Adam Stansfield, he began his footballing career in the academy of Exeter City. In August 2019, Stansfield signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

for an undisclosed fee. On 4 January 2020, Stansfield made his debut for Fulham in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round match against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, coming on in the 82nd minute for

Josh Onomah Joshua Oghenetega Peter Onomah (born 27 April 1997) is an English professional footballer. He will become a free agent when his contract with Blackpool expires on 30 June 2025. Onomah came through the academy system at Tottenham Hotspur, and wa ...

. Later that month, he made his league debut as an 88th-minute substitute in Fulham's EFL Championship match away at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, again replacing Josh Onomah. He scored his first goal for the club in the 26th minute of Fulham's

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against

on 24 August 2021.

Loan to Exeter City

On 2 September 2022, Stansfield returned to his boyhood club, Exeter City, on a season-long loan. Stansfield made his Exeter debut on 3 September as a 79th minute substitute in a 1–0 victory over

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

. He wore the no. 9 shirt, which had previously been retired after the previous holder, his father, Adam Stansfield, died of cancer in 2010. A run of four goals and two assists saw Stansfield win the

EFL Young Player of the Month The EFL Young Player of the Month is an award for young players in all three divisions of the English Football League. To be eligible players must be under-21 or turn 21 during the current season. It was first awarded in December 2009. Victor Mos ...

award for October 2022. Stansfield completed his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, whilst wearing his dad's number 9 shirt, scoring all three goals in a 3–2 home victory for the Grecians against

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

in the final game of the

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

season.This also was his last game on loan for Exeter City

Birmingham City

Stansfield signed for

club

on 24 August 2023 on loan for the 2023–24 season. Stansfield received the club's Player of the Season award. On 30 August 2024, Stansfield signed permanently at Birmingham City for a reported £15 million (rising to £20 million with incentives), a record deal for a club in

International career

Having represented England at under-18 level, Stansfield made his under-20 debut on 7 October 2021 during a 1–1 draw with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Technique Stadium SMH Group Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Whittington Moor, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on the site of the former Dema Glassworks. It is the home of Chesterfield F.C., replacing the Saltergate Recreation Ground as the club's stadi ...

in Chesterfield. After Rico Lewis and

Cole Palmer Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and the England national football te ...

were moved up to the England senior squad because of injury withdrawals, Stansfield was added to the under-21 squad for European Championship qualifiers against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in November 2023. He came on against Serbia on 18 November, replacing

Liam Delap Liam Rory Delap (born 8 February 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Chelsea. Club career Manchester City Delap joined Derby County's academy at the age of six where he spent the next 10 years before j ...

after 67 minutes, and twice came close to scoring, first with a turn and shot that hit the post and then with a shot that was blocked. He started against Northern Ireland, and played 71 minutes in a 3–0 win. Stansfield was again called up for qualifiers in March 2024; he was an unused substitute against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and played 62 minutes without scoring in a 7–0 win against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Career statistics

Honours

Birmingham City *

: 2024–25 *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

runner-up: 2024–25 England U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Individual *

: October 2022 *

Player of the Year: 2023–24

References

External links

Jay Stansfield profile
at the Fulham F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stansfield, Jay 2002 births Living people Sportspeople from Tiverton, Devon Footballers from Devon English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards Exeter City F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen