Birmingham City: Jay Stansfield facing new type of Blues pressure - View | OneFootball

Jay Stansfield is facing a new type of pressure at Birmingham City, after his deadline day move.

Jay Stansfield was one of the big talking points of deadline day after he completed a staggering £12 million-plus move to Birmingham City.

Having already broken the League One transfer record twice this window with fees of around £3.5 million for Christoph Klarer and Willum Thor Willumsson, you would have expected that to be the end of it.

But, in an astonishing turn of events, Chris Davies' side smashed both those numbers, with the signing of Stansfield on a seven-year contract.

Having been knocked back for much of the window, it was always going to take an inconceivable bid from Tom Wagner's consortium. But, even the most optimistic Bluenose wouldn't have expected them to offer that sort of money.

While it has dominated headlines for breaking the League One transfer record, the fee is also close to the Championship figure, which currently stands at £15 million, highlighting how much they value the former Exeter City youngster.

This kind of money will put immense pressure on Stansfield, who, at that price, simply cannot afford to let Birmingham City down.

Jay Stansfield's £12m price-tag will heighten expectation

While Stansfield would never admit to being flustered by the price paid for him, he will know the £12 million price tag means he has to deliver. He's no longer a youngster on loan looking to find his way in the game - whilst the second part of that statement remains true, the fee paid for him means he has to deliver in League One.

Having become a fan favourite during his loan spell at St Andrew's last season, he may be afforded more time than others. But, the 12 goals he delivered for them in the Championship have to be built on, and firing the Blues back to the second tier will be his priority.

At 21-years-old, inconsistencies will likely still be rife within his game, and he will have to iron these out as quickly as possible to score the number of goals expected from him.

One advantage for Stansfield is that he's not stepping into unfamiliar territory. Many of the players he teamed up with last year are still at the club, and with his prior experience, he should adapt more quickly than others.

While he will have to impress a new head coach in Davies, the system that he employs largely suits the attacker. High pressure in the final third and keeping the ball will only see more chances created for Stansfield, who, as he displayed last year, is an excellent finisher.

Alfie May and Jay Stansfield to fire Birmingham back to the Championship

After previously facing off in the Birmingham, Fulham match in the League Cup, Stansfield and May will now line up alongside each other.

May has started the season in fine form, netting four goals in the Blues' opening four fixtures. While the expectation is for him to maintain this momentum, Stansfield will be eager to challenge him on the goalscoring charts.

This won't be simple given that May has scored 66 goals in his past three full seasons in League One, but given Stansfield's Championship exploits, he will be targeting a similar number to his counterpart.

Additionally, the former Charlton Athletic striker could play a pivotal role in easing the pressure on his new understudy. If he continues to bag at an extreme rate, it will allow Stansfield to develop at his own pace and not put pressure on him to find the net every week.

Of course, if Birmingham's early-season hope fades, the pressure will fall squarely on Stansfield, as his price tag carries expectations far higher than those placed on May or his teammates.

But, given he is a player of a much higher standard, you would expect him to deliver week-in-week-out in League One and fire himself and Birmingham back into the second tier.