Blues owner Marcus Evans says the fee received from Bristol City for defender Adam Webster will be reinvested back into the squad and has revealed that that new manager Paul Hurst already has several targets as in mind he looks to rebuild for the season ahead.
"We didn’t want to lose Adam but it was very clear that the move appealed to him,” he told the club site.
"I thought long and hard before agreeing to the move and we haven’t let Adam go without receiving a significant fee and that will be reinvested into the playing squad.
"Paul has already identified a number of targets in various positions as we look to strengthen the squad for the season ahead and the challenge is now on to secure those players.”
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.
It seems likely that a significant proportion of the cash the Blues receive up front will be available to Hurst to spend on fees, while some will almost certainly go towards wages as well as other payments relating to signings.
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.
Hurst may well want to add two more senior centre-halves, despite having signed Chelsea youngster Trevoh Chalobah on a season-long loan on Monday, while another winger, in addition to Jordan Roberts whose signing on a free transfer was confirmed this morning, and probably another experienced striker with David McGoldrick having left the club in May.