Stansfield money will be "massive" for Exeter City

Jay Stansfield joined Birmingham City permanently after spending last season on loan at the club

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says the financial impact of Jay Stansfield's record move to Birmingham City will be "massive" for the club.

The 21-year-old joined Blues from Fulham on transfer deadline day in a deal worth more than £10m - the most money ever paid for a player by a third-tier side.

Stansfield began his career at Exeter City's academy before joining Fulham in August 2019 as a 16-year-old in a deal that included a share of any future sell-on fee.

Exeter had a 15% sell-on clause for Ollie Watkins when he joined Aston Villa from Brentford for £28m in 2020, so a similar clause with Stansfield would net Exeter at least £1.5m.

"It's massive," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon about the deal for Stansfield - who scored 13 goals in 47 games for Exeter while back on loan at the club from Fulham in the 2022-23 season.

"It's not something we can rely on, it's not something we can can predict because you never know when these players are going to get sold on or how their career's going to develop," Caldwell said.

"But it's something I think this club is very committed to."

Exeter have a good history of producing academy players whose sales go on to help fund the club.

Last summer, Exeter made more than £1m from Ethan Ampadu's move from Chelsea to Leeds United while Watkins has generated well over £4m in extra fees since his move to Villa.

Meanwhile, players such as Stansfield, Joel Randall, Josh Key, Archie Collins, Alfie Pond and Ben Chrisene have all left for fees in recent years.

"I think Julian Tagg (Exeter City president) in his wisdom 20-odd years ago kept the academy running when the club was in real financial difficulty," Caldwell said.

"It was a huge decision to make and it's paid off in millions of different ways because of the success we've had.

"It's a huge testament to him and all the people that have been part of this academy in those years, and it will continue to be a big part of what we do because it does provide finance.

"We believe in giving young people a chance, we believe in player development and that will continue for as long as I'm here and beyond."

Jay Stansfield's father Adam played for Exeter City before he died of cancer aged 31 in 2010