While Fulham might not have been in action this weekend, Tony Cascarino has been raving about Jay Stansfield after another top performance on loan at Birmingham City.
Marco Silva had a rare weekend off and would have been looking over Fulham’s young players who were in action away from the club.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (21/1 6:20am), Cascarino was reflecting on Birmigham’s 2-1 away win over Stoke City in the Championship yesterday.
It’s been a topsy-turvy season for Jay Stansfield after switching the Premier League for a return to the Championship.
Initially signed by John Eustace, he scored a couple of early goals as the Blues made a strong start to the campaign and sat in the play-off positions.
However, Eustace was shockingly sacked for Wayne Rooney and the England legend oversaw a freefall in the league table.
Rooney was dismissed at the start of the month and Tony Mowbray became Stansfield’s third manager of the season.
Birmingham are now unbeaten in four matches in all competitions and while the play-offs are out of reach, mid-table safety would be a comfort after Rooney led them into a relegation battle.
Cascarino has been raving about Stansfield after the Fulham youngster scored his eighth league goal of the season.
Silva has a decision to make in the summer to decide whether he’s ready to be part of the first-team squad next season.
Fulham have struggled to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic and while Raul Jimenez is starting to make an impact at the Cottage, Stansfield could end up being his long-term successor.
Cascarino praises Fulham loanee Stansfield
Speaking about his performance yesterday, Cascarino said: “The lad that’s on loan at Birmingham City is Jay Stansfield.
“And he got a terrific goal against Stoke yesterday and he’s having a decent season, it’s been a tough year for Birmingham City.
“But, he’s a bit of a shining light, he’s on loan from Fulham, he’s only 21, he does really well, he’s quick and he’s quite direct when he needs to be and his goal yesterday typifies his play.
“It gets played into him, he gets on the turn, he goes one way, then he comes back on his left foot and finishes it with his right foot.
“It was a terrific finish! He strikes it like Alan Shearer and I’ve seen a lot of him and I’ve got a good friend who goes to Birmingham a lot and I’ve talked about him and watched him, I just thought it was a perfect example of a player there’s all his assets in one goal that you see what he’s like.
“He’s quite dynamic, he gets in great spaces and when he gets there he makes quick decisions, he gets his head down and puts his foot through the ball, great finish.”
Fulham fans will be delighted to hear Cascarino compare Stansfield to Alan Shearer after his brilliant goal yesterday.
The 21-year-old has around 20 games left in all competitions this season to continue to get minutes under his belt and to add more senior experience to his game.
Playing a key part for a Championship side this year sets him up perfectly to join the Fulham squad next season.
Although he’s initially a product of Exeter’s academy, it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear shouts of ‘He’s one of our own’ from the Hammy End in years to come if Stansfield lines up for the Whites.