Ipswich Town deal was one of Bristol City’s best ever:
Adam Webster joined Bristol City as a replacement for Aden Flint in the summer of 2018, his season at Ashton Gate proved a successful one
Adam Webster’s time at Bristol City showcased a shrewd signing that led to a major profit for the club, proving beneficial in the long run.
Despite a potential risk in his signing, Webster’s performances quickly justified the investment, earning him recognition and transfer interest from top clubs.
Webster’s subsequent move to Brighton for a record fee solidified Bristol City’s business model, highlighting the value of developing talent and selling for profit.
Adam Webster may have spent just one season at Ashton Gate, but he’s fondly remembered by Bristol City supporters thanks to his performances for the Robins and the sizeable profit he made the South West club.
His performances for the club during the 2018/19 season led to him earning a move to Premier League side Brighton, and nearly five years on, he’s still with the Seagulls as they’ve cemented their position as one of the country’s best run clubs.
Whilst Bristol City supporters would have wished to have seen more of Webster at Ashton Gate, they made a profit on the player when he departed for Brighton, so he proved a very shrewd signing.
Bristol City sold Webster for a reported fee of £20mil
lion, a huge amount of money for the club to add to their coffers and showed how Championship clubs can develop talented players before selling them on for large sums of money, a sustainable business model for clubs.
Adam Webster’s time at Bristol City
The centre-back arrived from fellow Championship club Ipswich Town in the summer of 2018, for an initial fee of £3.5million, but could potentially rise to £8million, depending on various clauses, according to The Guardian.
A fee of up to £8million is a lot of money for a Championship side to spend, but in hindsight Robins boss Lee Johnson made the right decision when he decided to sign the then 23-year-old.
Webster had played 29 times for Ipswich the previous season, but had struggled with injuries, so it was a definite risk in forking out so much money to sign the player.
However, Webster thrived at Bristol City and immediately became the club’s first choice centre-back, forming a formidable partnership with Tomas Kalas.
Webster was signed after Aden Flint departed in the summer of 2018 for Middlesbrough. Flint had featured in every single game for the Robins during the 2017/18 campaign, so he needed replacing and Webster was the man brought in to do so.
In total, Webster made 47 appearances for the Robins during the 2018/19 season, scoring three goals in the meantime.
He cemented himself as one of the league’s best centre-backs, and it was inevitable that Bristol City would receive interest in him from Premier League sides.
Webster won the club’s player of the season award for the 2018/19 season, and also made the EFL on Quest’s team of the season, showing just how impressive he was for the Robins.
According to Sofascore, Webster kept 11 clean sheets at Championship level, averaging 2.1 interceptions and 1.4 tackles per game, whilst averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.13 for the season.
