Birmingham break League One record to buy Stansfield

Jay Stansfield spent last season on loan at Birmingham City

League One club Birmingham City completed arguably the most stunning signing of the summer 2024 transfer window as they signed Fulham striker Jay Stansfield for a fee of more than £10m on a seven-year deal.

At the same time they were completing a second signing of the night and 16th of the summer to bring in Celtic's Tomoki Iwata, the American-owned club - relegated from the Championship last season - then made it 17 with the biggest of the lot.

They are understood to have agreed to pay Fulham £10m plus bonuses if Blues are promoted, after the Premier League side had turned down an initial bid earlier on Friday.

Fulham also stand to benefit from any future move after having a sell-on clause inserted into the deal.

And, although the price officially remains "undisclosed", it has certainly smashed the League One transfer record.

That was understood to be the £4m paid by Sunderland to Wigan Athletic for Will Grigg five years ago.

But it has been widely reported that Blues had already come close to breaking that themselves earlier this summer with their back-to-back deals for defender Christoph Klarer and midfielder Willum Willumsson.

Both were also undisclosed, but both were thought to be around the £4m mark.

Blues' spending is now understood to have topped £25m this summer, having also paid seven-figure fees for Emil Hansson, Ayumu Yokoyama, Alex Cochrane and Lyndon Dykes - as well as bringing in nine other new men.

The spree has been bankrolled by owners Knighthead, fronted by chairman Tom Wagner and with seven-time American football Super Bowl winner Tom Brady as part-owner.

Who is Jay Stansfield?

Stansfield, son of late former Exeter City player Adam Stansfield, has made 10 appearances for Fulham since joining the west London club in 2019, scoring twice - both in League Cup ties against Blues, the second of them only this week.

He has also spent time on loan back at his dad's old club Exeter before arriving in Birmingham last August.

He scored 13 goals in 47 appearances for Blues in his season on loan, won all Birmingham City's player of the season awards and played under six different bosses - but he could not prevent the club being relegated to League One.

Blues have at least started this season well under new head coach Chris Davies - and are yet lose a league game going into Saturday's home match with Wigan Athletic.

Stansfield fee 'an extravagance' in League One

Analysis - BBC Radio WM's Richard Wilford

Whatever way you look at it, a League One side forking out what is reportedly an eight-figure fee for a player is an extravagance.

And in the case of Jay Stansfield, he was the 17th and final new addition to the squad of first-year manager Chris Davies - a change of personnel, a change of style and a change of culture.

While the pursuit of Stansfield was lingering and ultimately very expensive, the overall revolution has been methodical and purposeful.

It is designed not just to bring promotion but to then re-establish the club in the Championship and beyond.

Sales have been made too, and revenue streams greatly enhanced under owners Knighthead.

But expectation has grown exponentially and Blues’ League One rivals will be even keener to take them down a peg or two.