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 £20million, 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
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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.
His spell at Bristol City proved himself as one of the league’s best defenders and Webster will always be fondly remembered at Ashton Gate.
Adam Webster’s move to Brighton
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Webster’s £20million move to Brighton was the club’s record signing at the time, with it being obvious that Graham Potter was a huge fan of Webster after coming up against him in the Championship the previous season.
Potter was Swansea boss during the 2018/19 season and his side failed to score a goal against Webster, losing 1-0 and 2-0 to Bristol City during his tenure in the Championship.
The then Brighton boss told the BBC, “He is a quality defender, comfortable on the ball and fits the profile of the player we want to bring to the club.
“He was very keen to join us. Predominately a centre-half, he can also play at right-back, and he will bring additional competition alongside our existing defensive options.”
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His recent performance against Boro will give the higher-ups at Ashton Gate something to think about
Five seasons on, Webster remains with the Seagulls, although he has struggled for starts this season.
Despite only spending a season at Ashton Gate, it’s clear that Webster was one of Bristol City’s greatest ever signings.
A few eyebrows may have been raised when the club announced they were forking out a potential fee of £8million to bring him to the club in 2018, but having sold him for £20million just a year later, it’s clear that it was the right move.
Bristol City made a huge profit on Adam Webster, and it was a move that showed just how Championship clubs should be operating in the transfer market.
