It is fair to say that Birmingham City will be hoping to kick on and compete further up the Championship table than they did in the 2025/26 campaign.
Whilst a tenth place finish in the second tier was far from a horrendous season for their first year back in the division, Chris Davies will be wanting his team to compete for promotion this time around.
Adding more goals to the squad should be one of their priorities after they scored 57 goals in 46 league matches last term. Only Preston North End scored fewer goals (55) in the top 15.
The Blues may need to be ruthless with their squad building to piece together a side to achieve their goals, and that could mean that Jay Stansfield is at risk of losing his place in the side.
Why Birmingham need a Jay Stansfield upgrade
Birmingham raised more than a few eyebrows when they agreed a deal worth up to £20m to sign the English striker from Fulham after they had been relegated to League One in the summer of 2024.
He went on to score 20 goals in all competitions and helped the club to get back to the Championship, but he did not enjoy as much success in the second tier.
The 23-year-old marksman was nowhere near as prolific as he was in League One in the 2024/25 campaign, whilst he also struggled to deal with the physicality of the division, losing 70% of his ground duels and 90% of his aerial battles.
|
25/26 Championship |
Jay Stansfield |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
44 |
|
xG |
11.08 |
|
Goals |
10 |
|
Non-penalty goals |
8 |
|
Minutes per goal |
331 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
30% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
10% |
Stansfield underperformed against his xG and failed to reach double figures for non-penalty goals for Davies’ side last season, despite playing in 44 of their 46 league outings.
Birmingham may need more quality from their player in his position if they want to score enough goals to be genuine promotion contenders, given their lack of goals compared to the teams above them in the 2025/26 campaign.
Birmingham in talks to beat Hull to Stansfield upgrade
Now, the club’s latest transfer target will come as bad news to Stansfield because they would arrive at St. Andrew’s as an even better option in his role.
BBC Radio Humberside journalist Mike White reports that Birmingham City are in the race to sign Leeds United attacker Joe Geldhardt before the end of the window.
The reporter claims that the Blues are in talks with the Premier League side and the player about a potential return to the Championship this summer.
White made the claim in reaction to Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic revealing that he would like to bring Gelhardt back to the MKM Stadium, after he spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan there.
It will not be an easy deal for Birmingham to complete, given that Hull are now a Premier League side, but he could be a marquee addition to Davies’ attacking arsenal ahead of the Championship season getting underway this month.
Gelhardt played a starring role for the Tigers in their promotion to the top-flight and his performances last term suggest that he would offer more to the Blues than Stansfield currently does.
|
25/26 Championship |
Stansfield |
Gelhardt |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
44 |
42 |
|
xG |
11.08 |
11.42 |
|
Goals |
10 |
15 |
|
xG differential |
-1.08 |
+3.58 |
|
Minutes per goal |
331 |
196 |
|
Non-penalty goals |
8 |
14 |
The left-footed attacker is similar to Stansfield in the sense that he is best in a second striker role, rather than as the main number nine, as they are both lacking the natural physicality that a lone striker needs in the Championship.
Gelhardt, though, was far more effective in that second striker position than the Birmingham star was last season, as he scored six more non-penalty goals in two fewer appearances, whilst being far more clinical with the chances that came his way.
Whilst Stansfield was too wasteful at times for the Blues, underperforming against his xG, the Hull loanee was incredibly clinical with a return of 15 goals from just 11.42 xG.
Both players also averaged 0.1 assists per game, with Stansfield providing four and Gelhardt supplying six, which shows that there was not a great deal of difference in their creative output.
The Leeds forward, therefore, would be a terrific addition to both squads because he would be an upgrade on what Birmingham currently have at their disposal, whilst Hull would be bringing back a star who has proven himself with them already.
It is now down to the Blues to convince the attacker to make the move to St. Andrews so that Davies can have a far better second striker option than Stansfield at his disposal this season.
