The bleakness that engulfed Birmingham City after relegation down to League One was confirmed has now been replaced by an infectious optimism around St. Andrew’s, as the new-look side take the third tier by storm.
Chris Davies’ men will hope that their stay in the lowly division is a very swift one, and it looks like it’ll be a whistle-stop tour at best, with the rampant Blues only kept off the top of the early League One table currently owing to the fact they have a game to catch up on.
Jay Stansfield will be raring to go this weekend after netting twice last time out against an equally ambitious Wrexham side, with the bumper £20m amount splashed out to get him to relocate back to the West Midlands already paying off.
Stansfield's start at Birmingham
There were plenty of eyebrows raised amongst avid EFL fans when Stansfield linked back up with his former employers for such a lavish amount on deadline day, concluding Birmingham’s over-the-top spending methods in the window in some style.
Money does talk, however, and Stansfield will believe he can sharpen his goalscoring prowess in the third tier even more, having netted 13 goals in all competitions for his relegated side last season, before making this permanent move happen.
He had a dream debut back in the West Midlands, with his two important strikes helping Birmingham come out on top against Wrexham last time out, as more League One defenders now wait anxiously for how Stansfield could twist and turn them moving forward.
However, as much as winning the ex-Fulham youngster back was a major plus in the transfer department, Birmingham have also fallen victim to some poor decision-making with deals in and out of the club over the years, including letting Jobe Bellingham leave for just £3m last year.
Bellingham's increased transfer value
Bellingham’s transfer value has only gone up and up since leaving Birmingham behind for pastures new at Sunderland, as the impressive 18-year-old continues to star for Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats.
From 51 appearances playing in Wearside to date, the teenage sensation has managed to amass a respectable return of seven goals and two assists, leading to the attacking midfielder being touted for a move to Serie A titans Lazio, among other luxurious outfits.
He was even labelled as a “wonderful” talent by interim Sunderland boss Mike Dodds during the 2023/24 season, before further cementing himself as a key part of the first team under his new French manager this campaign.
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Sunderland
51
7
2
Birmingham
24
0
0
Birmingham U21s
13
0
1
Birmingham U18s
12
5
0
Bellingham would unfortunately never blossom into a top first-team performer at St. Andrew’s, as can be seen looking at the table above, with no goal contributions coming his way from 24 men’s appearances for the Blues.
Market Movers
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Therefore, at the time, £3m must have felt like a substantial amount, but with his recent valuation coming in at around the £20m mark when clubs were sniffing this summer – the same as what Birmingham reportedly paid to land Stansfield – the Blues might have well been better equipped to exercise more patience.
Of course, hindsight is a funny old thing, but Birmingham would have loved to have got more out of their homegrown product when they could have, before he became a top performer in the Championship.
That’s the level the Blues will be striving to get back to as soon as possible, with Birmingham perhaps even facing off against their ex-midfielder next campaign if everything goes to plan.
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