Former England internationals Jermaine Defoe and Joe Cole have hailed Birmingham City striker Jay Stansfield following his performances for England under-21s.
The 22-year-old has been living life under the microscope over the past year since he became the most expensive signing in League One history. With Birmingham determined to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking, they splashed out over £15 million to bring their former loanee back to the club from Premier League outfit Fulham.
Their faith in the youngster was repaid, with his 19 goals helping them storm the division with a record-breaking 111 points. This earned Stansfield a call up to the England under-21 squad for this summer’s European Championships.
Stansfield Praised For Impact
The attacker had to make do with a place amongst the substitutes for England’s three group games but has been handed a starting berth in each of their two knockout fixtures. Although he is yet to find the back of the net, he played a huge role in wins over Spain and the Netherlands, and is expected to keep his place for tonight’s final against Germany.
Following the semi-final win, both Defoe and Cole were full of praise for the ex-Exeter City loanee. Speaking on Channel 4’s coverage, Defoe said:
“A lot of the clips we see, he sets off the press. A big part of the England DNA is protecting the middle and showing people outside and he does that with intensity. You want players who press but he presses with a purpose.”
Continuing, former Chelsea winger Cole agreed with his old England teammate:
“When you set a press, you are only as good as your forward players. They have to do it and he does it with aplomb.
“As a midfield player behind him, when you see your centre-forward doing that, you’re like, ‘Right, we’re on this today.’
“When you play for England you leave that pitch with sweat dripping and this kid did.”
Writer’s View
Stansfield came in for a lot of unfair criticism last season, which was always to be expected due to his exceptionally large transfer fee. 19 league goals is still an excellent return but he is a player who offers much more than his goalscoring exploits. There’s a reason he was an almost ever-present for Chris Davies, and the fact the Blues went on to win the league at a canter is no coincidence. He has already shown that he can cut it in the Championship. He hit 12 goals whilst on loan with Birmingham in what was a poor side by comparison. He will have a big season at St Andrew’s, where he will hopefully have a European Championship winners’ medal around his neck.
