Marco Silva believes Jay Stansfield can make a serious impression on the Fulham first team squad if he continues his rate of improvement.
The teenage striker is in line to feature against Leeds in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night after scoring a stunning first senior goal at Birmingham City in the previous round. Stansfield has impressed Silva since the Portuguese head coach took over at Craven Cottage this summer and the Fulham boss told the media after yesterday’s defeat by Reading:
“I really like Jay, not just as a footballer but as young boy whose work-rate is fantastic. Every time he learns something from the training session, and he’s working with me every single day.
“One thing is very important: he can score easily; inside or around the box. The last few seasons he’s had some injury problems that stopped his development but he will get more chances.
“Jay got his chance against Birmingham and scored a fabulous goal with a good strike. I’m sure if he gets more chances, he will show his quality.”
Stansfield could get more opportunities as an understudy to Aleksandar Mitrovic at senior level depending on the severity of Rodrigo Muniz’s injury. The Brazilian gave Fulham a late lifeline with his first goal for the club against Reading but was limping after picking up an injury – and couldn’t be replaced because Silva had already made three substitutions.
