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Jay Stansfield takes his father's retired number after signing for Exeter

Jay Stansfield takes his father's retired number after signing for Exeter

"To be able to come in and take the shirt, I'll be proud to wear it and hopefully I can follow in the footsteps of what he did."

Back in 2010, Exeter City retired the number nine shirt as a mark of respect to former striker Adam Stansfield, who tragically lost his battle with cancer at the age of 31.

On Friday afternoon, that number was handed to Jay Stansfield, his teenage son.

The League One side announced the heartwarming arrival of 19-year-old forward Stansfield on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit Fulham with a touching shirt presentation at St James Park.

In the clip, Stansfield says: "It means a lot. I know the pressure is going to be high if I had the number nine shirt or if I didn't. So I thought it was the right thing for me to do.

"To be able to come in and take the shirt, I'll be proud to wear it and hopefully I can follow in the footsteps of what he did and hopefully go beyond.

"When I was at the academy and when he used to play here I dreamed of playing in the number nine shirt. To be able to come here and wear it, I hope I can do him proud."

Exeter manager Matt Taylor is delighted with his latest signing.

"Jay will learn a lot about himself as well as about ourselves over the next few weeks, but his game can definitely adapt," he said.

"He's scored so many goals in the academy and has carried that on into the under-021s, and showed signs in the first team as well. This is a signing for the fans to really get excited about."

Adam Stansfield, who scored 39 goals in 160 appearances during a four year spell at Exeter, sadly passed away in August 2010 following a battle with cancer.

Stansfield was admitted to hospital at the end of March and diagnosed with bowel cancer following a series of tests for an abdominal complaint.

He began his professional career at Yeovil in 2001 and would play for Hereford and Exeter during a nine-year professional career.

Featured Image Credit: Exeter/Twitter

Topics: League One