"North of £20m" - Birmingham City tipped to land future Jay Stansfield windfall | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit believes star striker Jay Stansfield could now be worth over £20 million.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

It is fair to say that Birmingham City generated plenty of headlines when they smashed the League One transfer record to sign striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham in the summer.

Despite the fact that Birmingham suffered relegation from the Championship last season, Stansfield impressed during his loan spell at the club, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists in 47 games.

Few gave Blues any chance of bringing Stansfield back to the club in the third tier, but in a stunning move, he returned to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on the final day of the summer transfer window for a reported fee of more than £15 million – although the exact amount has been disputed.

There was big pressure on Stansfield to deliver given his significant price tag, but the 22-year-old has enjoyed an outstanding season for Birmingham so far, firing them to the top of the League One table.

Stansfield got on the scoresheet again in the Blues' 2-1 victory over Bradford City on Tuesday night as they booked their place in the Vertu Trophy final, but he was stretchered off during the second half, with manager Chris Davies admitting that there is "huge concern" about his injury.

Birmingham City fan pundit makes bold Jay Stansfield claim

When asked which player is the club's prized asset, FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit Mike Gibbs said that Stansfield is undoubtedly the Blues' star man, and he predicted that the striker could now be worth more than £20 million.

"I think it's Jay Stansfield," Mike said.

"Obviously we paid a lot of money for him back in August, it was somewhere between £10-15 million.

"He's a young British player, and they typically come with a bit of a price tag and a bit of a premium.

"If I was to put a number on his head now, it would probably be north of £20 million, primarily because if it was anything less than that, what's the point in selling him?

"I do genuinely believe he's worth that.

"I can't see anybody paying that at the moment, but if he continues his goalscoring record into the Championship, he's going to be very, very sought after."

Birmingham City will be hoping that Jay Stansfield returns sooner rather than later

It is difficult to disagree with Mike that Stansfield is Birmingham's prized asset, and while they will have no intention of selling him any time soon, the club could make a sizable profit on him in the future if they wished to.

Many questioned the Blues' decision to pay such a big fee for Stansfield in the summer, but with promotion from League One looking a near certainty, the move is now starting to look much more sensible.

Stansfield was always going to be prolific in the third tier, but he proved during his loan spell with Birmingham last season that he can also deliver in the Championship, which is an exciting prospect for the years ahead.

However, after Stansfield was stretched off on Tuesday night, Blues supporters will be anxiously hoping that he is not out for too long, having received an update that there is no bone or ligament damage.

That is of course a positive step, but with 17 League One games left to play for Blues, there are plenty of points up for grabs, and taking Stansfield away from the action will not be what Chris Davies or Birmingham fans want, given he is their talisman.