Claim made on Jay Stansfield playing for England - Birmingham City fan would "be surprised" by one thing | OneFootball

FLW's Blues fan pundit has debated whether the club-record signing will be a fully-fledged England star in the future

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…

Throughout recent history, there have been a plethora of examples which prove that the EFL and, in particular, the Championship is a talent hotbed.

Numerous stars who are currently playing at the top of their game for high-profile Premier League and European sides in domestic and continental competitions, such as the UEFA Champions League, can all owe some of their well-documented development to brief or lengthy spells within the second tier of English football.

Such a trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon, either, with there being plenty of talented individuals still within the early years of their senior careers that continue to shine on the Championship stage, subsequently attracting interest from a multitude of clubs higher up the pyramid.

One club, though, that are looking to make a rapid rise up the divisions is Birmingham City, with the club's well-documented rebuild under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management beginning with a record-breaking season - on so many levels - in League One last term under Chris Davies.

With the West Midlands outfit continuing to invest heavily in multiple on and off-pitch facets, developments at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park have certainly come under the microscope in the early weeks of the Championship campaign after a raft of more high-profile incomings.

Yet, whilst it was seen as a statement when the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Marvin Ducksch and Demarai Gray were added to Davies' frontline, none of those deals were as eye-catching as the club-record fee parted with to secure Jay Stansfield's services on a permanent seven-year deal after an initial loan spell back in August 2024.

As such, the Tiverton-born man is one of the most talked-about individuals in the division when it comes to current ability and potential.

With that in mind, FLW asked our resident Blues fan pundit, Jason Moore, whether he sees the striker fully establishing himself as a future England international.

Jay Stansfield's England potential debated amid Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney claim

Stansfield has been the 'poster boy' of Tom Wagner's rebuilding job in B9, having been recruited permanently after an impressive 13-goal haul during the chaotic 2023/24 season which ended in relegation for Blues.

After parting with an obscene fee by League One standards, Stansfield was the subject of criticism from rival supporters irrespective of his on-pitch performances which saw him net 24 times in all competitions last term as Blues accrued an all-time high of 111 points.

Such performances then led to him being a part of the Young Lions' Under-21 European Championship-winning side under former Birmingham midfielder, Lee Carsley, before being the club's most-potent attacking force once again in an inconsistent start to the current campaign.

Despite the potential Stansfield is still capable of fulfilling, Moore believes that he may become a fringe option for those in charge of the national team in the coming years, whether it is Thomas Tuchel or another man in the hotseat.

"I think Jay's got the potential to be an England international," our fan pundit claimed. "But, I don't think he's going to be one of those players who 'have to be in the squad'.

"I think he's going to be a regular in the Premier League, hopefully for us," Moore added. "But, do I see him being a starter for England? Probably not.

"Do I see him, maybe, in the squad a couple of times? Yes, I reckon he'll make the squad and earn a couple of caps. But, I'd be surprised if he's regularly in the squad.

"I hope he is, because once Harry Kane goes, I don't see many strikers coming through that are going to lead the line the way he has, and the way Wayne Rooney did previously.

"I hope I'm wrong, and I hope Jay Stansfield's a full England international playing every game up-top for England, but I don't quite see it," he continued.

"I think he's going to be a regular Premier League player and a couple of England caps, which is a fantastic career, by the way.

"No one could knock him for that and keep calling him 'Pensfield' for the rest of his life. Premier League player with a couple of England caps," Moore reiterated.

Jay Stansfield has the potential to be the latest Birmingham City-associated Three Lions figure

As Moore said, Blues fans would take immense pride in seeing Stansfield eventually reach senior international level, particularly if a call-up was to come off the back of impressively continued development and form in the Second City.

This would see the 22-year-old become the latest in a line of recent Three Lions regulars to have been associated with Blues on a permanent or temporary basis, with the most obvious name in that regard being Jude Bellingham.

The Real Madrid star was recently left out of Tuchel's squad for games against Wales and Latvia, but is expected to emerge back into the fold by the time the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico rolls around, having played a starring role in the run to the UEFA Euro 2024 final in Sir Gareth Southgate's final tournament.

However, it's fair to say that Stansfield would be competing with several current and potential attacking options should he emerge as a potential option for the national team, such as Ollie Watkins — who has excelled for cross-city rivals Aston Villa for many years — as well as Liam Delap and Dominic Solanke.