Adam Webster has completed his switch from Ipswich Town to Championship rivals Bristol City,
The 23-year-old defender joins the Robins on an four-year contract after the clubs agreed an initial £3.5m fee with the potential to rise as high as £8m.
“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 Bristol City’s club website.
“Speaking to the head coach (Lee Johnson) 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.
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“The club is very ambitious and I would like to think I am as well, so I am excited.”
Town trio Cole Skuse, Dean Gerken and Jordan Spence all previously played at Ashton Gate, with Webster saying: “I spoke to all three of them and they had nothing but positive things to say about the club and the city so it was a no-brainer.
“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 to keep clean sheets but on the other hand I like to bring the ball out from the back and get the play started.
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“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.”
Webster’s former club Portsmouth will receive 20% of the profit Town have made on the player.
The Blues gave the south coast club, then in League Two, a fee of £700k and highly-rated young defender Matt Clarke two years ago. It’s unclear whether the part-exchange part of that deal will come into play when paying out on the sell-on clause.
Webster made 48 starts and five substitute appearances during an impressive, but injury-hit two seasons at Portman Road.
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So impressive was his start to life at the club that he was soon being tipped as a Premier League player in the making, but ankle and Achilles problems have slowed his progression.
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New Blues boss Paul Hurst has already made two summer signings in the form of England U19 defender/midfielder Trevoh Chalobah (Cheslea, season-long loan) and 24-year-old winger Jordan Roberts (Crawley, free).
Given his recent comments, it’s likely that – at the very least – he’ll want to sign two centre-backs, one more winger and a striker.
Regarding Webster, an Ipswich club statement read: “We would like to thank Adam for his efforts in a Town shirt over the past two seasons, and wish him well for the future.”
Bristol City boss Lee Johnson, whose side finished just one place above Town last season in 11th, moved quickly to secure Webster after selling centre-back Aden Flint to Middlesbrough for £7m.
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He’d already seen fellow defender Hordor Magnusson join CSKA Moscow earlier this summer, while 19-goal striker Bobby Reid has just completed a reported £10m move to newly-promoted Premier League side Cardiff City.
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