Sunderland target Jay Stansfield explains his decision to sign for Championship rivals on loan

Sunderland target Jay Stansfield has completed a loan switch to Championship rivals Birmingham City.

Head coach Tony Mowbray confirmed that the youngster, who had spent last season on loan with League Two side Exeter City, was one of 'three or four' potential loanees the club were pursuing in a bid to add more firepower to their forward line this season.

At that stage Mowbray hoped that a new arrival was imminent, but a week on there has been no breakthrough. Speaking earlier today, Mowbray said an issue with the target's contractual status at his parent club had been the reason the deal had stalled.

Birmingham City have confirmed Stansfield's arrival this evening, saying that they beat 'a dozen' clubs to conclude the deal.

"I am buzzing," Stansfield said.

"It has been a long time coming. I have been in contact with a lot of people in the last three or four weeks and I made the decision to come here.

"It is a very family club and I can't wait to get started.

"I think this is a big club and a club that is going on the up," he added.

"I spoke to the Gaffer and what he drills into the team and the way he likes to play suits me massively.

"Being in the middle of the country is close to London, close to home. I am quite a big family man and I like having my family around me, so it is perfect for them to be able to come up and watch the games and for me to be able to go home and see them still.

"I hope to develop into a better player. [I hope to] become stronger and be able to keep up with the physical demands of the game, but also to come here and help the Blues do as well as they can do, finish as high in the table as possible.

"I want to get as many goals and assists as possible."

Stansfield has agreed a new four-year deal at Fulham before making the loan switch.

Fulham's Head of Football Development Huw Jennings said of the move: "We're really delighted and it's a long-term deal as well which is something that we've been focused on with our younger players in the last few years, to try to encourage them to commit long-term to the Club.

"Jay had an outstanding loan at Exeter last season and for all the right reasons, we want to see him as part of Fulham for a long time.

"At 20 years of age and as a goalscorer who is also very creative, this is the ideal platform for Jay.

"He's going to be in a situation where he gets great experience playing at a higher level, building on all of the success that he had last year at Exeter.

"Watching him in training and during the early pre-season games, he looks sharp and hopefully he can transform that into an excellent loan opportunity with Birmingham."