U21 Player to Watch: Fulham – Jay Stansfield

Not many expected Fulham to have the season they had last time out, with the Cottagers finishing in the top half of the table and going toe-to-toe with some of the big teams. However, this summer has gone differently than many expected it to go so far. 

With star striker Aleksandar Mitrović on the verge of leaving the club and with little transfer business in terms of incomings done so far. However, manager Marco Silva rejected an offer from the Saudi Pro League. Carlos Vinícius is in the line to take Mitrović’s place in the starting XI, and Fulham are also in talks with Wolves to sign Raúl Jiménez. 

However, if Fulham are looking to unearth someone from their academy — Jay Stansfield, the 20-year-old forward, could be an option for the London club.

The below visualisation shows Stansfield’s numbers from last season when on loan at Exeter City.

Having already spent time during his youth career at Exeter City, Stansfield returned to the club last summer on loan from Fulham and finished as the third-highest scorer with nine goals for Exeter. Stansfield also assisted his teammates seven times in the league during the season. 

Jay Stansfield has been involved with the Fulham senior squad on and off since the 2019/20 season. The forward brings a lot of energy up front, and his finishing is above average too. Stansfield’s profile is quite versatile, too — having played a considerable amount of playing time as a centre-forward, left-winger, or attacking midfielder in a number 10 role. 

In possession, he isn’t afraid to pick an out-of-the-box pass to find his teammates, and his bravery has let him play on his instincts to find his teammates. Defensively, Stansfield is hard-working up front to help his teammates win the ball high up the pitch.

There are several questions and doubts about whether Fulham can repeat the performances from last season. With players needing to fill several positions, Stansfield could be a helpful addition as a depth option for Fulham this upcoming season if they wanted to spend some money on a few other positions.