If his homecoming was an emotional one, his departure was well and truly the stuff of dreams.
Jay Stansfield made a return to St James Park on loan from Fulham and took over the number nine shirt, which the Grecians had retired the memory of his late father, Adam Stansfield, and he signed off from his stint at St James Park in the best possible - with a hat-trick against Morecambe.
The 20-year old became the youngest player to net a treble in the EFL in the 2022-23 season, which took his tally for the campaign to nine goals.
Prior to his arrival at St James Park, Stansfield junior had made a handful of appearances for Fulham in the Premier League, so his return to the club where he began his career as a youth team player represented something of a coup for the Grecians.
His move to Craven Cottage occurred at the age of 17; this was before he had appeared for the Grecians first team, unlike many other of his fellow academy graduates such as Matt Grimes, Ollie Watkins and Ethan Ampadu - all of whom earned the club millions of pounds in transfer revenue.
Therefore his loan move represents a win-win situation for both parties, as the St James Park faithful got to see Stansfield junior where the red and white of the Grecians, rather than remain cocooned in the relative comfort of Under-23s football.
The challenge now for Stansfield junior is to try and see if he can emulate messrs Watkins and Ampadu and become a Premier League regular.
