Central defender Adam Webster’s switch to Bristol City has been confirmed. The 23-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Ashton Gate.
Webster has moved to the Robins for an initial £3.5 million fee, which could rise to as much as £8 million after top-ups.
These include appearance milestones which should see the figure quickly reach £4 million as well as other clauses, including one relating to the Robins reaching the Premier League, while the Blues would also get a cut of the profit on any future sale.
Portsmouth, Webster’s former club, are due 20 per cent of the profit Town have made on the deal agreed when he moved to Portman Road in the summer of 2016.
Webster cost the Blues £700,000 plus Matt Clarke, who is believed to have been valued at £50,000. Pompey will receive an initial £550,000 and a fifth of the ongoing top-ups.
The cash Town receive from Webster’s sale will go into new manager Paul Hurst’s budget as he looks to put his own stamp on his squad before the start of the 2018/19 campaign.
The former England U18 and U19 international made 48 starts and five sub appearances in an injury-hit spell with the Blues, scoring one goal.
#WelcomeAdam#BristolCity are delighted to announce the signing of Adam Webster from Ipswich Town.
Read more 👇– Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) June 28, 2018
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson is pleased to have made the signing of a player he rates very highly.
"I am delighted to get this deal done,” he told bcfc.co.uk. "We strongly believe in Adam’s ability and he is a player we have been tracking for a long time.
"He has proved himself as a top Championship defender and I look forward to seeing him play alongside our current centre-halves.
"He comes with real quality on the ball and we believe we can be the vehicle for him to go to the very top, hopefully with us, Bristol City.”
Webster says Johnson impressed him with his vision for the Robins' future.
"Since I’ve known about the club’s interest, it was always something I wanted to pursue and I can’t wait to get started,” he told BCTV.
"Speaking to the head coach and hearing the plans he has for the club, I wanted to come here straight away and I am pleased to get the deal over the line.
"The club is very ambitious and I would like to think I am as well, so I am excited.”
He says he talked to ex-Bristol City trio Dean Gerken, Cole Skuse and Jordan Spence before making the move.
"I spoke to all three of them but they had nothing but positive things to say about the club and the city so it was a no-brainer,” he added.
"Obviously it’s a difficult division, there’s not an easy game, so it will be important to get a good pre-season under my belt and crack on from there.
"As a defender I will first and foremost be looking keep clean sheets but on the other hand I like to bring the ball out from the back and get the play started.
"I want to play every game and both the club and myself want to get promoted to the Premier League so hopefully we can achieve that.”
#itfc can confirm that @AdamWebster31 has today left the Club to join @BristolCity for an undisclosed fee.
We wish Adam all the very best for the future.
👉 https://t.co/n8x6wIOPGD pic.twitter.com/eGWd7WVXIz– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) June 28, 2018
With Webster departing, the Blues will need at least one more senior central defender, perhaps two, having already signed Trevoh Chalobah on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Among the likely replacements for Webster are Blackpool’s Curtis Tilt, 26, who was reported to be the subject of a Town bid earlier in the week and we understand there is something in the link.
Shrewsbury's Aristote Nsiala, also 26, has been mentioned in connection with the Blues on a number of occasions, although his former boss Hurst played down those reports on Monday.