Wayne Rooney has had a difficult start to life at St Andrew’s, but one player’s efforts in particular will give the former Manchester United player hope that better times are on the horizon.
With goals against Southampton and Ipswich Town, Jay Stansfield has scored in the Blues’ past two games, bringing his season total to five goals and his tally to two under Rooney’s leadership.
Before being benched for the trip to Southampton, the Tiverton-born attacker started Rooney’s first two games in command of the team against Middlesbrough and Hull City. But in the 3-1 loss, the 20-year-old made an instant impression from the bench, scoring a goal just one minute after entering the game.
Ex-England captain Rooney had deemed that sufficient evidence that Stansfield deserved to be reinstated to the team, and he was rewarded as Stansfield scored a 13th-minute goal in their recent 2-2 draw with Ipswich, making it two goals in two games for the youngster.
With the West Midlands-based side yet to win a game under Rooney’s regime, he’ll be hoping that Stansfield continues to find the back of the net as the club looks to move up the table.
How has Jay Stansfield been performing for Birmingham City?
Since joining Fulham on loan in August, the former Exeter City man has been in good form for the Blues. He made the dream come true in the Midlands with a last-minute goal to win his debut game against Plymouth Argyle, which was no doubt even sweeter for the young man given his Exeter allegiances.
Things got even better for the youngster the following week when he made it two goals in two games, scoring Birmingham’s only goal of the game in a 1-1 draw with Millwall.
He then made it three goals in four league games two weeks later when he scored in the Blues’ 2-1 loss away to Preston North End, marking a dream start for the Fulham loanee. However, he’d go through something of a barren spell in the weeks that followed, going six league games without finding the back of the net.
According to Sofascore, Stansfield has considerably outperformed his expected goals, scoring five goals this season from an xG of 2.15. He’s averaged 2.3 shots per game, 0.8 shots on target per game, and a scoring frequency of every 175 minutes. All five of his goals this season have come from inside the box, and he’s missed just one big chance.
With a trip to Sunderland on the horizon, he’ll be looking to add to his tally of five goals as Rooney goes in search of his first win at the club.
What does Wayne Rooney think of Jay Stansfield?
Rooney has stated that the team can’t put too much expectation on the 20-year-old’s shoulders as he’s still learning his trade, according to the Birmingham Mail
However, as a young striker, there is no one better to look up to than Rooney, who scored 53 goals in 120 England games.
Rooney has described the youngster as a “very good finisher” and has clearly been impressed by what he’s seen in recent weeks. Stansfield’s confidence will be sky-high after two goals in the last two games, bolstered by his manager’s extensive expertise and experience playing in the same position.
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