Birmingham

Marco Silva confirms Fulham stance on Jay Stansfield future

Published

8 months ago

May 10, 2024

After spending this season on loan at Birmingham City, striker Jay Stansfield will remain with Fulham, according to Marco Silva.

Despite not being able to stop Birmingham’s Championship relegation, the England Under-21 international made an impression for the Midlands team by scoring 13 goals across all competitions.

The 21-year-old Stansfield scored nine goals in League One while on loan at Exeter City during the previous season. As Standard Sport reported at the time, that resulted in many loan proposals from Championship teams this summer, including Queens Park Rangers.

“He will return with us,” Silva declared regarding Stansfield. “Everything we intended was a check [ticked], with the exception of Birmingham’s collective goal, which was not what we desired.

It was satisfying to see him make progress in the Championship and contribute significantly to the offensive line after playing in League One the previous season with Exeter City. Jay accomplished all that mattered.

“This is his chance to return and be a member of our offensive line for the upcoming campaign.”

Silva, however, insisted that a social media video purporting to show several Fulham players flying kites does not suggest that his club is psychologically “on the beach” before to the end of the season.

The season is almost over for mid-table Fulham, and last week, a video posted on Raul Jimenez’s Instagram account showed Willian, Andreas Pereira, and Rodrigo Muniz flying kites at the team’s Motspur Park training facility.

Arsenal supporters, whose hopes of winning the title rest on Fulham’s performance against Manchester City on Saturday, expressed worry over the Cottagers’ level of preparation.

But this week, the team flew kites both after practice and on their days off, and Silva was irritated when people questioned him about it.

He remarked, “They had one minute [after training]”. It’s not even a matter worthy of discussion.

“We will continue to perform our duties as we have throughout this season, giving it our all to win us points rather than providing favors for other people.

As they say in England, many have asked me if the players will be “on the beach” or not. That is untrue. I’m the first to apply some pressure when [my players] start to get too carefree.

All of Fulham’s players are fit for the City match, with the exception of Sasa Lukic, who sustained an injury during practice.

Silva declared, “Sasa Lukic is going to be out of the squad list.” “Everyone else will be accessible. A minor problem in his calf, nothing significant. He should be ready very soon, in my opinion. We don’t take any chances.

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