Yahoo Sport Should Stansfield have been a goalscoring option from the bench?
Emma Jones, BBC Radio London
Should Fulham have given another one of their youngsters a chance?
That’s what I found myself wondering as I commentated on Millwall’s match at Birmingham City earlier this month.
"This is the Jay Stansfield show," I said at one stage, as the Fulham loanee yet again slalomed through the Lions' defence, on his way to scoring his second goal in as many league games for the home side. Playing – and scoring – regularly can only be good for the 20-year-old.
However, the latest transfer window seems to have been frustrating, concerning and disappointing for Fulham.
They’ve kept Willian and Joao Palhinha – for now - but goal machine Aleksandar Mitrovic has gone and the club had little to no time to attempt to replace such an influential player. So there will be worries about where the goals are going to come from this season.
It would obviously be foolish to put all of that pressure on young Stansfield’s shoulders, but Marco Silva has given him Premier League minutes in the past - and with the squad he currently has, the Cottagers boss might have been tempted to at least have Stansfield on the bench again.
Fulham, after all, do have a good record of developing young players. The next challenge is keeping hold of them rather than selling them to other Premier League clubs.