Birmingham City's ambition is to become a Premier League club again for the first time since they were relegated from the division at the end of the 2010/11 campaign.
This means that there will be plenty of players in the squad who may not be in it for the long haul because Chris Davies' side were in League One last year and the jump from there to the Premier League is enormous.
For example, Sunderland's last starting line-up featured just three players who were with them in the Championship, one of which was a January loan ahead of a potential promotion.
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Birmingham, despite losing 3-0 to Millwall on Wednesday night, are only four points from the play-offs and still have a chance to earn promotion to the top-flight this season.
If they do succeed in securing back-to-back promotions, Jay Stansfield is one of the players who may suffer as a result of their rapid rise back to the big time.
Why Jay Stansfield would struggle in the Premier League
The Blues agreed a deal that was worth up to £20m including add-ons to sign the England U21 international from Premier League side Fulham in the summer of 2024, which made him the most expensive League One signing in history.
Stansfield, as expected for the fee that was paid for him at that level, helped Birmingham to win the third tier with a return of 19 goals in 27 appearances for the club.
He has not had it all his own way in the Championship, though, and has scored seven non-penalty goals in 30 Championship starts, with a further two penalties scored on top of that.
Stansfield has only scored one goal in his last 18 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, but the concerning part has been his general play. In the league this season, the 23-year-old forward has lost 73% of his ground duels and 89% of his aerial battles.
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Teams fighting to avoid relegation in the Premier League cannot afford to carry players who do not have the physicality to compete with stronger and quicker defenders, unless they have exceptional quality.
Stansfield's fairly underwhelming goal return does not suggest that he has the exceptional, Premier League level, quality to make up for his lack of physical attributes, which is why, at his current level, he would struggle in the top-flight.
The Birmingham star who has Premier League potential
Whilst the £20m signing from Fulham does not currently look destined to become a Premier League star for the Blues, there is another player in the squad who may have what it takes to excel at that level.
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In the January transfer window, Birmingham swooped to sign central midfielder Jhon Solis on loan from Girona with an option to buy that could become an obligation if conditions are met.
Despite being sent off in the 3-0 loss to Millwall, the Colombian talent looks like a player who could grace the Premier League with the Blues in the future.
As odd as it may sound, the action leading to his second yellow card in that loss is one of the reasons why he has Premier League potential, because he reads the player pressing him from behind perfectly and takes a good touch and uses his body well to get away from his marker, but the mistake was that he was a yard short of beating the next player to the ball.
These are the small details that players can improve and get better at as they get used to playing in England and the intensity that the game is played at in the Championship, and the Premier League.
25/26 Championship Jhon Solis
Appearances 7
Tackles per game 1.6
Dribbled past per game 0.6x
Duels won per game 4.3
Ground duel success rate 51%
Aerial duel success rate 50%
Despite losing ten of his 14 ground duels in the last two games, Solis has won 51% of his battles on the deck in the Championship and 50% of his aerial contests, which shows that he can hold his own physically, despite being a 21-year-old who recently arrived in England.
Earlier this month, Mail Sport's Nathan Salt claimed that the central midfielder "willbeinthePLin18 months" and it is hard to disagree with that after watching his performances for Birmingham since he joined the club.
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The red card against Millwall was a bad moment, of course, but no player is perfect and it will be a lesson that Solis can learn from for future matches. A bump on the road.
Solis has the technical quality, completing 85% of his passes and 67% of his dribbles, to play under pressure in midfield, but he also has the physicality, as aforementioned, to hold his own in midfield, and this is all whilst only being 21.
If the 21-year-old talent continues to improve and impress in the middle of the park, the Colombian star will be playing in the Premier League sooner rather than later, whether that is with Birmingham or elsewhere.
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The same cannot be said for Stansfield at the moment, though, because of his struggles on the ball and out of possession, which is why Solis currently looks like a greater prospect for the top-flight.