Fulham forward Jay Stansfield has made an emotional return to Exeter City – the side synonymous with his late father – after signing for the Grecians on a season-long loan.

The talented teenager, who moved to Craven Cottage from Exeter’s academy in August 2019, has made seven senior appearances for Fulham with Marco Silva handing the 19 year-old a Premier League debut at Wolves last month. The Tiverton-born front man made his first professional start in the 3-2 win over Brentford the following week and impressed as a makeshift right winger. His chances of further first-team football were dented by the deadline day arrival of Carlos Vinicius as Aleksandar Mitrovic’s understudy – paving the way for a return to St. James’ Park.

Stansfield, who starred in City’s youth sides, was already a household name in the south west after the goalscoring exploits of his father, Adam, who scored 39 goals in 169 appearances for Exeter before losing his brave fight against cancer at the age of 31. The Stansfield family set up the Adam Stansfield foundation in memory of the former Hereford, Yeovil and City legend, which has raised hundreds of thousands in the south west.

Stansfield, who will wear his father’s iconic number nine shirt, could make his first Grecians appearance back at the Park when Milton Keynes visit tomorrow.