Birmingham City: Jay Stansfield and Alfie May duo has scary potential: View | OneFootball

If Birmingham City are able to sign Jay Stansfield, he would form a ruthless duo alongside Alfie May

Birmingham City are overwhelming favourites to earn immediate promotion back to the Championship, following their relegation to League One at the end of last season.

In fact, the Blues occupied a top-six spot in the second tier when they made the decision to sack former boss John Eustace, and replace him with Wayne Rooney; a decision which proved disastrous.

But the St Andrew's outfit have managed to retain several members of their Championship squad despite their relegation, and look set to make a serious challenge for automatic promotion.

The Blues have also added to their ranks with plenty of new signings, such as former Brighton starlet Marc Leonard, but the pick of the bunch in terms of Birmingham's transfer activity so far has undoubtedly been the signing of last season's golden boot winner, Alfie May from Charlton Athletic.

But Chris Davies' men have also expressed an interest in bringing Fulham's Jay Stansfield back to the West Midlands, in a deal believed to be worth £6m, according to Football Insider.

The striker enjoyed a loan spell with the Blues last campaign in which he scored 12 goals despite the club's bottom-three fate, and could be set to link up with May.

May and Stansfield would be a ridiculously dangerous duo in League One

Many League One defenders will already be worried about the prospect of coming up against May in a Blues shirt, who scored 23 goals in the third tier for Charlton last season, and seems likely to score even more for a strong Birmingham outfit.

The 31-year-old also scored on 20 occasions during the 2022/23 season for former club Cheltenham Town, further emphasising the quality he boasts in the third tier.

And adding Stansfield into the equation could hand the Blues one of the most dangerous attacking duos the third tier has seen, as his return of 12 goals in 43 Championship games last season arguably shows that he too, could be in contention for the League One golden boot alongside his potential teammate.

There is no doubt that May would be able to work effectively alongside Stansfield, as despite his goalscoring accolades, the former Charlton star is a selfless forward who is able to support his fellow attackers, and was often deployed out wide for the Addicks last season in order to accomodate the likes of Daniel Kanu.

Blues face Stoke City battle for Stansfield

Landing the 21-year-old's signature on a permanent basis following his successful loan stint at St Andrew's would be a major transfer coup for the Blues as a League One outfit.

But Football Insider have revealed that Championship side Stoke City are also interested in securing the striker's services, a development which could be damaging to the Blues' pursuit of the player.

Stansfield proved last campaign that he is more than capable of producing the goods at Championship level too, so he may not want to turn down the opportunity to test his capabilities in the second tier once more.

However, the forward is already familiar with his potential surroundings at St Andrew's, having spent last season on loan with the Blues, which Davies' side should use to their advantage in this transfer race with the Potters.

Furthermore, Stansfield could be keen on helping his former loan club to promotion and to potential silverware in the form of the League One title.

Such an eventuality would see the youngster playing alongside May, a prospect which will have Blues fans licking their lips due to the duo's inevitable threat.