Wayne Rooney’s favorite player is beginning to take shape

It’s been a tough start to life for Wayne Rooney at St Andrew’s but the performances of one man in particular will give the ex-Manchester United man the confidence that better results are just around the corner.

Jay Stansfield has scored in the Blues’ last two games, with goals against Southampton and Ipswich Town taking his tally to five for the season and two under Rooney’s regime.

The Tiverton-born attacker started Rooney’s first two games in charge of the club against Middlesbrough and Hull City before being dropped to the bench for the trip to Southampton. However, the 20-year-old made an immediate impact from the bench and scored just a minute after coming off the bench in the 3-1 defeat.

Ex-England captain Rooney had deemed that sufficient evidence that Stansfield deserved to be reinstated to the team and he was rewarded as Stansfield scored a 13th minute goal in their recent 2-2 draw with Ipswich, making it two goals in two games for the youngster.

With the West Midlands-based side yet to win a game under Rooney’s regime, he’ll be hoping that Stansfield continues to find the back of the net as the club look to move up the table.

How has Jay Stansfield been performing for Birmingham City?

Since joining from Fulham on loan in August, the former Exeter City man has been in good form for the Blues. He made the dream start to life in the Midlands with a last minute goal to win his debut game against Plymouth Argyle, no doubt made even sweeter for the young man given his Exeter allegiances.

Things got even better for the youngster the following week when he made it two goals in two games, scoring Birmingham’s only goal of the game in a 1-1 draw with Millwall.

He then made it three goals in four league games two weeks later when he scored in the Blues’ 2-1 loss away to Preston North End, marking a dream start for the Fulham-loanee. However, he’d go through something of a barren spell in the weeks that followed, going six league games without finding the back of the net.

According to Sofascore, Stansfield has considerably out-performed his expected goals, scoring five goals this season from an xG of 2.15. He’s averaged 2.3 shots a game, 0.8 shots on target per game and a scoring frequency of every 175 minutes. All five of his goals this season have come from inside of the box and he’s missed just one big chance.

With a trip to Sunderland on the horizon, he’ll be looking to add to his tally of five goals as Rooney goes in search of his first win at the club.

What does Wayne Rooney think of Jay Stansfield?

Rooney has stated that the team can’t put too much expectation on the 20-year-old’s shoulders as he’s still learning his trade, according to the Birmingham Mail.

However, as a young striker there’s no one better to learn from than Rooney who scored 53 goals in 120 appearances for England.

Rooney has labeled the youngster a “very good finisher” and has obviously been impressed with what he’s seen in recent weeks. After two goals in the last two games, Stansfield’s confidence will be sky-high and will be aided by his manager’s in-depth knowledge and experience of playing in the same position.