Exclusive: Fulham told they should "regret" Birmingham City, Jay Stansfield deal by Sky Sports pundit | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has spoken exclusively to Football League World about Fulham's decision to sell Jay Stansfield last summer.

Lee Hendrie believes that Fulham made a mistake in selling Jay Stansfield to Birmingham City last summer, after a strong first season as a permanent player at St. Andrew's for the forward.

While the campaign is by no means over, the 22-year-old has carried on from where he left off in the Championship and he has played a significant role in Blues' promotion out of League One at the first time of asking.

Although he was unable to get himself on the scoresheet against Peterborough United on Tuesday evening, he has been crucial throughout 2024/25 and he has scored some very important goals in what looks to be a record-breaking year for the West Midlands outfit.

Birmingham know that they must still end this season as strongly as possible, and they will be hoping for their £15m summer signing to find the back of the net even more in the final weeks of the campaign as they get ready for the Championship.

Lee Hendrie makes strong Fulham claim after Jay Stansfield sale in 2024

Stansfield spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Blues, and he instantly struck a strong rapport with supporters that unfortunately looked as though it was going to come to an end.

However, at the last moment in the summer transfer window, a deal was agreed with Fulham to sign the striker permanently, a decision that owner Tom Wagner has not looked back on yet with his number 28 scoring consistently.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Lee Hendrie has claimed that the Cottagers may live to rue their decision to sell Stansfield in the future as he looks to climb the football pyramid with Birmingham.

He told FLW: "They've had some very good strikers at Fulham, and I think he had to go out and like many others establish himself and find his feet, get strength. We know he's got bags of pace and he now he's got experience on his side.

"So, I think they might well regret it like many clubs do when they loan players out and then they sell them on."

Hendrie continued: "They did get good money for him off Birmingham and there may be some sort of clause for Fulham to take him back, that is another thing.

"But, I'm pretty sure that they will be looking at that and thinking that they potentially could have had someone who could be a prized asset, but I think that's the gamble that some of these football clubs take and Birmingham are reaping the rewards at the moment."

Jay Stansfield has to show prowess in the Championship next season to take his reputation to the next level

Although he has been able to be a threat in League One, and he has scored plenty of goals, it must be said that a lot of those have come from the penalty spot.

While that is not a slight on Stansfield and his quality, he knows that he must step up his game once again in the Championship and prove to the rest of the EFL why Birmingham spent such a large sum of money on him.

He scored 12 times in 43 matches for Blues in their last second tier campaign, and this was a solid return for his first season in the division - especially when it is considered that his team were relegated.

If he can show the same tenacity and cause issues for others, then Birmingham will be strong next season, and they may just find themselves pushing towards the top six on their return to the Championship.