Thursday Fulham Stuff - 01/08/24...

[WhiteJC]

Fulham wrap up deal for Villarreal star
La Liga outfit Villarreal have on Wednesday agreed to the sale of a key member of the club's defensive ranks.

That's according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who points towards Jorge Cuenca as the player in question.

Stopper Cuenca, for his part, is fresh off a fine individual campaign with Villarreal, which saw the 24-year-old rack up 34 appearances across all competitions.

Showcasing his versatility by way of outings at centre-back and left-back alike, the Spaniard established himself as a pivotal member of Marcelino's backline.

In turn, it will no doubt mark a blow to all associated with the Yellow Submarine to hear of Cuenca being on the verge of moving on.

His impending destination? Premier League outfit Fulham.

As per a report from Fabrizio Romano:

'Fulham agree deal to sign Spanish CB Jorge Cuenca from Villarreal, here we go!'

Cuenca is primed to fly out to London over the coming days, ahead of putting pen to paper on a five-year contract with Fulham.



https://getfootballnewsspain.com/fulham-wrap-up-deal-for-villarreal-star/

[WhiteJC]

Birmingham City will hope to avoid Sunderland fate as £6m talks continue: View

    Birmingham City set to make a big statement with £6million move for Stansfield from Fulham.
    Spending big money doesn't guarantee success in League One, just look at Will Grigg and Sunderland.
    Stansfield's potential move to Birmingham comes with risks, despite his talent and previous success on loan.

Birmingham City could smash the League One transfer record this summer, with it being reported that they want to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham.
 The Telegraph have reported that the Blues are in talks with Fulham over a £6 million deal to sign Stansfield, who was a huge success on loan at St Andrew's last season.

It goes without saying that £6 million is an incredible amount of money for a League One side to spend on one player, and it smashes the previous league record of £4 million that Sunderland paid for Will Grigg back in January 2019.

Birmingham are expected to steamroll League One next season given their financial muscle, but spending a lot of money on players doesn't guarantee you promotion - just ask Will Grigg and Sunderland.

Birmingham City will want to avoid Will Grigg's Sunderland fate with Jay Stansfield
 If Stansfield joins Birmingham for a fee of £6 million, people will expect him to score hatfuls next term, just as they did with Grigg five-and-half years ago, but it's fair to say the Northern Irish man didn't have the desired impact at the Stadium of Light.

Similarly to what Stansfield would be doing, Grigg dropped down to League One from a higher league, having previously been at Wigan in the Championship, and the expectation was that he'd have no problem in finding the back of the net on a regular basis.

However, Grigg's time at the Black Cats was pretty disastrous, and he scored just eight times in 62 appearances, a woeful return given the money they paid for him and how high expectations were.

Will Grigg's time at Sunderland - Transfermarkt

Season	P	G	A
2018/19	22	5	2
2019/20	27	3	1
2020/21	12	0	0
2021/22	1	0	0
Total	62	8	3

 The Northern Irish international spent time on loan with both MK Dons and Rotherham United during his three years on the books at Sunderland, and he played no part in helping Sunderland win promotion, the reason he'd been brought to the club in the first place.

This shows that there is a precedent of League One clubs signing players from higher divisions for big fees and failing miserably, and it's just something to consider for the Birmingham City hierarchy.

 If he signs, by no means will Stansfield's spell at Birmingham be anything like Grigg's time at Sunderland, but it shows that spending big money doesn't always pay off in a division as tough as League One.

Signing Jay Stansfield would be a statement of intent by Birmingham City
 Stansfield is a number of years younger than Grigg was when he joined Sunderland, and the Fulham man is more than capable of being a Championship player next season.

Quite frankly, it would be an incredible coup if he joined Birmingham City on a permanent basis, with the striker being the club's best player last season, scoring 12 goals despite relegation.

Stansfield won a clean sweep of awards at the club's end of season awards night, and he's a player that is hugely popular amongst supporters.

 A player of his quality would be out of reach for normal League One clubs, but given his fruitful loan spell at St Andrew's and the club's ambition, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Stansfield wanted to return to the West Midlands.

However, despite his obvious talent, it's still a risk for a League One side to be forking out £6 milllion, as if things go wrong, it could put the club in serious trouble.

Birmingham are determined to win promotion this season and on paper, Stansfield would be a big help in doing so.

However, as we saw with Grigg, just because a signing is expected to perform well, it doesn't always work out like that.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/birmingham-city-hope-avoid-sunderland-will-grigg-fate-jay-stansfield/