Birmingham City transfer critics could be eating their words soon: View | OneFootball

Birmingham City's Jay Stansfield deal has been questioned, but critics may be proved wrong before long...

Birmingham City received no shortage of critique and concern after forking out a pretty penny to complete a sensational permanent return for Jay Stansfield, but the early indications suggest that they could just disprove the doubters.

Despite seeing their side fall to relegation from the Championship at the end of the previous season, Blues supporters headed into the summer humming with optimism and excitement.

Throughout the blue quarters of the Second City, fans have collectively brought into the ambitious project headed by Tom Wagner, who took over the club last year under the Knighthead company.

During the early stages of Wagner's ownership, Blues have undertaken significant and much-needed repair work on the stadium - now known as 'St Andrews @ Knighthead Park' - and ploughed inconceivable sums into the playing squad in a bid to escape through the League One trapdoor at the very first time of asking.

Birmingham's recent summer transfer window was not short of statements of intent, with the likes of Ben Davies, Marc Leonard, Willum Willumsson, Christoph Klarer and Emil Hansson all joining the club. Such high-profile activity has never previously been seen at third-tier level, although the permanent return of Jay Stansfield was undoubtedly the real talking point.

Stansfield made a strong impression while on loan from Fulham in the previous campaign, scoring 12 Championship goals. Blues pursued a move for the young striker all summer and he even scored against them in a Carabao Cup tie days before heading back to the club for a fee which is believed to cost an initial - and astronomical - £15m, shattering the previous League One transfer record, although contrasting reports have emerged.

Jay Stansfield's Birmingham City, League One impact

After impressing in the Championship, few were left to contest the havoc that Stansfield could wreak in League One this season. So far at least, that is exactly how it has panned out.

Stansfield has scored in each of his first two games back at Blues, netting a brace in his side's 3-1 triumph over promotion and Hollywood rivals Wrexham before adding his third goal of the season in their 2-0 victory at Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon.

The 21-year-old has showcased his flexibility in that time too, as he played off the right-hand side during the win against Rotherham. Such versatility will be needed for all of Blues' striking candidates, of course, as Chris Davies also has Lyndon Dykes and last season's League One top goalscorer in Alfie May to call upon.

Birmingham have embarked upon an unsurprisingly positive start to life in the third-tier and they are now the only side to remain unbeaten so far, winning five of their opening six encounters.

They will face further tests against Peterborough United and promotion-chasing duo Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic in their next three affairs. However, with Stansfield now in the ranks and already firing on all cylinders, it is difficult to envisage just who can manage to subdue Davies' blockbuster side at all this year.

Jay Stansfield and Birmingham City can prove critics wrong in the long-term

You could already make a case that Stansfield is beginning to disprove the doubters, who, it must be said, were well within their reason to question the deal.

Birmingham's outlay for Stansfield's signature is alien to this level and such a fee may never be shelled out below the Championship again, and the financial ramifications that could occur in the unlikely event that they fail to achieve promotion could be damaging.

However, he already looks capable of firing Blues back to the Championship and such a feat would represent a partial vindication of their investment. That said, Birmingham will be focusing on the bigger picture with Stansfield.

It is clear for all to see that they intend on reaching the Premier League in the not-too-distant future and Stansfield will naturally be a driving force if those ambitions are to be realised.

They are on track to do so, too, as their existing squad would likely be competitive at Championship level, and they will only be expected to bolster it even more next year.

It is easy to see why the deal was questioned at the time, but it is similarly easy to see just why Stansfield could represent excellent business in the long-run. Should he achieve his individual potential, then you would surely back Birmingham to end up collecting a profit for him and they would hope for that situation to occur when they finally claw their way back to the top-flight.