Ipswich Town centre-back Adam Webster is once again being linked with Championship rivals Bristol City.
According to both the Daily Mirror and HITC Sport, the Robins have reportedly lined up the 23-year-old as a replacement for Aden Flint after the latter today completed a £7m switch to Middlesbrough.
This is a resurfacing of speculation that first began back in January when Derby, Brighton and West Brom were all said to be vying for Flint’s signature.
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Back then, Webster – who arrived at Portman Road two years ago from Portsmouth for a fee of £700k plus highly-rated young defender Matt Clarke – was said to be valued at £4m though these latest reports suggest a fee of £2m.
Bristol City, who finished 11th last season, have already seen centre-back Hordur Magnusson depart for CSKA Moscow this summer and face a fight to hang on to star men Bobby Reid and Joe Bryan.
The South West club have also been linked with a £7m+ move for Peterborough striker Jack Marriott.
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STU SAYS...
A valuation of £2m is, quite frankly, laughable given the current market.
Webster took the step up from League Two in his stride two years ago, so much so that he was soon being compared to a young John Stones.
There are no secrets in football and plenty of Premier League scouts were monitoring him. Everyone wants a ball-playing centre-half these days and they are hard to come by.
Ankle and Achilles injuries may have disrupted his progress, but it would surely still take an eye-watering bid to turn Marcus Evans’ head.
It’s been reported he is in the final year of his contract. Technically that’s right, but Town do have the option to extend that by a further 12 months so he’s a pretty well protected asset still.
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Mind you, none of us know what new boss Paul Hurst is thinking. He does seem like a man who is ready to make some bold decisions in order to put his own stamp on the squad. Perhaps he would sanction a big sale in order to boost his own tight transfer kitty?
He has said he wants players who are comfortable on the ball in all areas of the pitch though, so Webster – you would think – will be right up his street.
And then there’s the fact that the Blues are pretty thin on the ground in terms of centre-backs.
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Other than Webster, there’s captain Luke Chambers and new signing Trevoh Chalobah, the England U19 international having just arrived on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Town have been linked to other centre-backs – notably Toto Nsiala (Shrewsbury) and Curtis Tilt (Blackpool) – but you would imagine they would be to bolster a position that the Blues were left short in last season following the departures of Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith.
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