Jay Stansfield is confident he can be the man to fire England into the quarter-finals of the Under-21 Euros after boss Lee Carsley hinted at mixing up his team this week.
Liam Delap’s absence, having joined up with Chelsea and headed off to the Club World Cup, meant that England’s youngsters headed to Slovakia this summer without a traditional No 9.
That absence wasn’t felt in the opening 3-1 win over Czech Republic but became much more of a talking point after they were shutout by Slovenia in game two, taking their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals to the final group game against Germany.
Stansfield is the closest thing Carsley has to one but the Birmingham City attacker, who scored 24 times for the Blues last season en route to winning League One, has been restricted to two cameo appearances so far.
‘I’ve got to be confident and show belief in myself and if I get that opportunity to put the ball in the back of that net then that’s something I love doing,’ he said.
‘It’s a great feeling to do that for my club but I’m sure it’ll be even more special for England.’
Jay Stansfield (right) has been restricted to two cameo appearances in the first two games
Boss Lee Carsley admitted the Birmingham City attacker gave him food for thought this week
In the last 20 minutes of the Slovenia match Stansfield showed the difference of having a player comfortable in the No 9 position on the pitch in terms of runs in behind and stretching the play.
While he has played both wide left and wide right for Birmingham, as well as at No 10, the No 9 role is one he relishes and would be more than willing to shoulder the responsibility of against Germany on Wednesday night.
‘I quite enjoy it,’ Stansfield added.
‘I don’t get to play it much with this group of lads, but it’s a privilege to be here and be able to play with some amazing players.
‘So to be in that position where I can play as the No 9 or anywhere else is good for me.
‘Throughout my youth career I’ve played as a lone No 9. So if it comes down to that, I know what I’m doing.’
The feeling at Birmingham City is that Stansfield operates best when running in behind and trying to pin defenders back by playing on the shoulder.
Carsley could see flashes of that and after a shutout against Slovenia, the England Under-21’s boss admitted he had ‘food for thought’ following the impact of Stansfield and his other substitutes.
Stansfield is the closest thing England Under-21’s have to a traditional No 9 at this tournament
‘Jay did well when he came on,’ Carsley said. ‘He gave us that focal point, gave us that threat in behind and had a couple of chances.
‘We need to freshen it up for the Germany game.’
England are second in Group B on four points and they simply need to match or better Slovenia’s result to progress to the last eight.
