Adam Webster - Update - Sold to Brighton

[AshtonRobin21]

A fantastic player who has been a joy to watch. However, to get 25m for a centre back in the championship with no prem experience and a slightly worrying injury record is incredible business by Mark Ashton.

I will certainly miss Webby but what incredible negotiations Mr Ashton has carried out this summer (incoming and outgoing).  Twice breaking the record for the highest transfer fee we have received.

It’s difficult to face the reality sometimes, but at times we will need to sacrifice individuals who can generate high profit in order to build a stronger team. If we need to sell Webster in order to fund 2/3 other positions then that’s what must be done. It’s all part of our progression and credit to the model that we have, this is the strongest position going into a season that I can remember in recent years.

It’s incredible to see the fee’s received for two defenders, who historically have always transferred for fee’s lower than that of attacking players. You really wonder what amount Ashton would be able to generate for players such as Eliasson or Semenyo on the back of good seasons!

It’s going to be an exciting end to the window. Just hope we get the right players in to give us the best chance of promotion.

[ScottishRed]

7 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

This feels odd.

Adam Webster is, bar none, the player I have seen in the last 40 years watching city who I believe has the highest ceiling. That means I put him in career potential above Andy Cole, Tammy Abraham and Stefan Marinovic - he’s genuinely that good.

So, why I am I not gutted?

Simply, this sale is not by accident. It’s by design. It’s by the club knowing the players they need, the style they want, developing and selling on. I can’t - nobody can - guarantee that Webster’s replacement will be better than Webster - and tbf, unlike when we sold Flint, it’s pretty unlikely. But what you can guarantee is a strategy, and, damn, I’ve not seen that this developed before.

If - as likely - Adam Webster goes it should be with all our best wishes. He’s better than this level. By a mile. He put everything in last year and deserves the opportunities to get himself international coverage. But we should also realise that there is a bigger plan which every level of the club is bought into. It might not be the next Webster from that plan - but I’d lay short money we won’t be worse off in the end.

Short version: Hurts losing your best player, but he deserves it and every confidence in the future even without AW.

I totally agree. This is the strategy in action - sell Webster , replace, but also get in a ‘proven No 9’ as per MA, at possibly a level we have never got close to previously.

It will be sad to see him go but, not many thought he was a decent replacement for Aden, far less a £20m profit signing.

I am starting to believe that we are going places.

KP is a very good signing and he could be a big player for us this season and I suspect by next Thursday evening he will have a record breaking striker to feed the chances to.

[Simon bristol]

5 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

No.

Who was it?

[BCFC11]

6 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

This feels odd.

Adam Webster is, bar none, the player I have seen in the last 40 years watching city who I believe has the highest ceiling. That means I put him in career potential above Andy Cole, Tammy Abraham and Stefan Marinovic - he’s genuinely that good.

So, why I am I not gutted?

Simply, this sale is not by accident. It’s by design. It’s by the club knowing the players they need, the style they want, developing and selling on. I can’t - nobody can - guarantee that Webster’s replacement will be better than Webster - and tbf, unlike when we sold Flint, it’s pretty unlikely. But what you can guarantee is a strategy, and, damn, I’ve not seen that this developed before.

If - as likely - Adam Webster goes it should be with all our best wishes. He’s better than this level. By a mile. He put everything in last year and deserves the opportunities to get himself international coverage. But we should also realise that there is a bigger plan which every level of the club is bought into. It might not be the next Webster from that plan - but I’d lay short money we won’t be worse off in the end.

Short version: Hurts losing your best player, but he deserves it and every confidence in the future even without AW.

It will hurt indeed. As most of us seen last season he is a really top player and I’ve no doubt whatsoever, even said it halfway through last season that he will go on to play for England for sure. He’s got what our national sides been missing, someone who’s confident on the ball and isn’t afraid to take players on either, a couple of years back and he may well rediscover it but I thought Stones was that man, well it’ll be your time to shine Webster, whether he’ll be able to show it at Brighton though I’m not so sure, I think they are in for a season of real struggle.

Cannot fault the club at all though, LJ for demanding the club to sign him to replace Flint, and MA too, signing him for what now is an absolute steal, and sticking to his guns regarding the fee wanted this summer and if rumours are true turning down multiple bids until he gets the fee he wants. If he does go it’ll be hard to replace him no doubt but have every confidence nowadays in the club to get the right players through the door.

If it happens good luck Webby. 

[Coppello]

8 minutes ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

A fantastic player who has been a joy to watch. However, to get 25m for a centre back in the championship with no prem experience and a slightly worrying injury record is incredible business by Mark Ashton.

I will certainly miss Webby but what incredible negotiations Mr Ashton has carried out this summer (incoming and outgoing).  Twice breaking the record for the highest transfer fee we have received.

It’s difficult to face the reality sometimes, but at times we will need to sacrifice individuals who can generate high profit in order to build a stronger team. If we need to sell Webster in order to fund 2/3 other positions then that’s what must be done. It’s all part of our progression and credit to the model that we have, this is the strongest position going into a season that I can remember in recent years.

Good post. To put that in perspective, using the Webster money, we can break our transfer record with three times over and still come away with a bit of change. It's a huge amount of money.

[BCFC11]

10 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

No.

You sure? I swear I read earlier the Sags pulled out of that deal? Blaming someone else again.

[AshtonRobin21]

4 minutes ago, Coppello said:

Good post. To put that in perspective, using the Webster money, we can break our transfer record with three times over and still come away with a bit of change. It's a huge amount of money.

What will be key is the method of how that money is spent. If you look at the previous transfers when Liverpool sold Suarez and Tottenham sold Bale, both clubs went out and bought 7/8 players to try and fill the void. It didn’t work as the players signed were either at a similar level or worse than others members of their squads at the time.

For us, we simply need to try and attract players for 2/3 positions that are a significant upgrade on what we currently have. That is the challenge. However, with the business we have currently done, it’s clear we only have a maximum of 3 positions that we can significantly upgrade in.

A quality Striker

A ball winning midfielder

A Centre Back replacement for Webster

(A right back to challenge Hunt would be an extra bonus)

spend wisely and we would have the look of a very strong team in this division. 

[downendcity]

21 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

This feels odd.

Adam Webster is, bar none, the player I have seen in the last 40 years watching city who I believe has the highest ceiling. That means I put him in career potential above Andy Cole, Tammy Abraham and Stefan Marinovic - he’s genuinely that good.

So, why I am I not gutted?

Simply, this sale is not by accident. It’s by design. It’s by the club knowing the players they need, the style they want, developing and selling on. I can’t - nobody can - guarantee that Webster’s replacement will be better than Webster - and tbf, unlike when we sold Flint, it’s pretty unlikely. But what you can guarantee is a strategy, and, damn, I’ve not seen that this developed before.

If - as likely - Adam Webster goes it should be with all our best wishes. He’s better than this level. By a mile. He put everything in last year and deserves the opportunities to get himself international coverage. But we should also realise that there is a bigger plan which every level of the club is bought into. It might not be the next Webster from that plan - but I’d lay short money we won’t be worse off in the end.

Short version: Hurts losing your best player, but he deserves it and every confidence in the future even without AW.

A year ago we were worried about replacing the likes of Flint, Bryan and Reid. We brought in decent money and brought in replacements - Webster for £3.5m, Dasilva on loan and Weimann for £2.5m (?).

A season on we have sold Kelly and look like we will be selling Webster for a combined £38-40M!!!! WE have signed 3 Chelsea players , one of them for a club record £8m.

The "strategy" is seeing us move up a notch year by year. I suspect that seeing players like Kelly and Webster developing here and making big money moves to the prem is bound to make us look a more attractive proposition to upcoming players. More importantly. the fees we are now receiving enables us to afford a better quality of player when we are looking to bring in new players or to replace those moving on. 

Fans worried that we can't build a team if we keep selling our better players should try and  see the bigger picture. The days of an owner throwing his cheque book at promotion are gone, thanks to ffp. Our strategy requires a bit more patience ( or might not!) which is the hardest part for fans desperate for success i.e. promotion.

[BS4 on Tour...]

47 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

No.

Who was it then?

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Coppello said:

Cheers Kid.

In all honesty, I have my heart set on him going because I can't overlook the fee and the risk of him getting injured in the near future which wipes out his valuation. At the start of summer I remember saying, 'I'd only let him go if someone came in with an absolutely ridiculous figure like £20m which they won't'. Turns out I was wrong and the market for a young English CB was more inflated than I anticipated.

I assume we are nearing our valuation as these discussions have been going on for a short while?

Pretty sure I said the same.  Don’t feel bad

i’m surprised the likes of Mawson haven’t been touted ahead of Webster, but maybe Fulham want even more for him than Webster.  Potter likes to pass the ball, so you can see his logic.  Webster will need to prove his defensive skills though.

1 hour ago, AshtonRobin21 said:

What will be key is the method of how that money is spent. If you look at the previous transfers when Liverpool sold Suarez and Tottenham sold Bale, both clubs went out and bought 7/8 players to try and fill the void. It didn’t work as the players signed were either at a similar level or worse than others members of their squads at the time.

For us, we simply need to try and attract players for 2/3 positions that are a significant upgrade on what we currently have. That is the challenge. However, with the business we have currently done, it’s clear we only have a maximum of 3 positions that we can significantly upgrade in.

A quality Striker

A ball winning midfielder

A Centre Back replacement for Webster

(A right back to challenge Hunt would be an extra bonus)

spend wisely and we would have the look of a very strong team in this division. 

Could quite easily go £10m striker, £5m DM, £5m CB....but need to consider wage bill increase too, but that’s too simplistic.

Think I’d be looking at the odd loan instead of trying to sign permies in all 3.

[Lrrr]

2 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

No.

Jansson or Konza by any chance? Unless they're just not available anymore then trying to think of 'top class' defenders who have moved clubs who could be described as such

[pillred]

3 hours ago, downendcity said:

A year ago we were worried about replacing the likes of Flint, Bryan and Reid. We brought in decent money and brought in replacements - Webster for £3.5m, Dasilva on loan and Weimann for £2.5m (?).

A season on we have sold Kelly and look like we will be selling Webster for a combined £38-40M!!!! WE have signed 3 Chelsea players , one of them for a club record £8m.

The "strategy" is seeing us move up a notch year by year. I suspect that seeing players like Kelly and Webster developing here and making big money moves to the prem is bound to make us look a more attractive proposition to upcoming players. More importantly. the fees we are now receiving enables us to afford a better quality of player when we are looking to bring in new players or to replace those moving on. 

Fans worried that we can't build a team if we keep selling our better players should try and  see the bigger picture. The days of an owner throwing his cheque book at promotion are gone, thanks to ffp. Our strategy requires a bit more patience ( or might not!) which is the hardest part for fans desperate for success i.e. promotion.

The wages still seem to be a problem though don't they, that has been an ongoing problem for a few years.

[Major Isewater]

8 hours ago, Wade Wilson said:

Still can’t quite get over the fact we might actually sell a player for £25m. I mean, holy ****.

On Football Manager, earlier this year, I sold Webster (in Jan of the first season) to Watford for £10m thinking that was an excellent, excellent deal. Yet, here we are about to make more than double that. We’ve out Football Manager-ed Football Manager. 

 

You just love to see it. 

Wade Wilson out .

[AshtonGreat]

10 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

This feels odd.

Adam Webster is, bar none, the player I have seen in the last 40 years watching city who I believe has the highest ceiling. That means I put him in career potential above Andy Cole, Tammy Abraham and Stefan Marinovic - he’s genuinely that good.

So, why I am I not gutted?

Simply, this sale is not by accident. It’s by design. It’s by the club knowing the players they need, the style they want, developing and selling on. I can’t - nobody can - guarantee that Webster’s replacement will be better than Webster - and tbf, unlike when we sold Flint, it’s pretty unlikely. But what you can guarantee is a strategy, and, damn, I’ve not seen that this developed before.

If - as likely - Adam Webster goes it should be with all our best wishes. He’s better than this level. By a mile. He put everything in last year and deserves the opportunities to get himself international coverage. But we should also realise that there is a bigger plan which every level of the club is bought into. It might not be the next Webster from that plan - but I’d lay short money we won’t be worse off in the end.

Short version: Hurts losing your best player, but he deserves it and every confidence in the future even without AW.

I think you're probably overrating him somewhat. Higher ceiling than Andy Cole? He won the treble with Man United and is rightly regarded as one of their all-time greatest players. I can't help feeling that if Webster was as good as you say, he'd have the likes of Arsenal, Spurs and United sniffing around. Those clubs have pretty sophisticated scouting networks. 

Also, does putting in one good season with us really equate to 'deserving opportunities' elsewhere. Blimey, for the money these guys get paid, playing a good season of football is the least I'd expect. 

[AshtonGreat]

10 hours ago, downendcity said:

A year ago we were worried about replacing the likes of Flint, Bryan and Reid. We brought in decent money and brought in replacements - Webster for £3.5m, Dasilva on loan and Weimann for £2.5m (?).

A season on we have sold Kelly and look like we will be selling Webster for a combined £38-40M!!!! WE have signed 3 Chelsea players , one of them for a club record £8m.

The "strategy" is seeing us move up a notch year by year. I suspect that seeing players like Kelly and Webster developing here and making big money moves to the prem is bound to make us look a more attractive proposition to upcoming players. More importantly. the fees we are now receiving enables us to afford a better quality of player when we are looking to bring in new players or to replace those moving on. 

Fans worried that we can't build a team if we keep selling our better players should try and  see the bigger picture. The days of an owner throwing his cheque book at promotion are gone, thanks to ffp. Our strategy requires a bit more patience ( or might not!) which is the hardest part for fans desperate for success i.e. promotion.

 

Yes, we were worried about replacing Flint but managed to replace him with Webster - now we're selling him too. In fact, I seem to remember hearing that Johnson was only prepared to sell Flint if he could get Webster. We can't keep selling decent centre backs or we'll never get anywhere.

And yes, Weimann replaced Bobby Reid - now we score a lot less goals.

 

[Coppello]

1 minute ago, AshtonGreat said:

 

Yes, we were worried about replacing Flint but managed to replace him with Webster - now we're selling him too. In fact, I seem to remember hearing that Johnson was only prepared to sell Flint if he could get Webster. We can't keep selling decent centre backs or we'll never get anywhere.

And yes, Weimann replaced Bobby Reid - now we score a lot less goals.

 

But do you not concede that the reported £25m is a phenomenal amount of money for a player with a poor injury record? It's the kind of sum that is difficult to turn down as it could do so much for the rest of the squad. If invested well, it will narrow the gap between us and the parachute payment clubs. We'd be very silly to turn it down. 

[Luxo Jr.]

8 minutes ago, AshtonGreat said:

 

Yes, we were worried about replacing Flint but managed to replace him with Webster - now we're selling him too. In fact, I seem to remember hearing that Johnson was only prepared to sell Flint if he could get Webster. We can't keep selling decent centre backs or we'll never get anywhere.

And yes, Weimann replaced Bobby Reid - now we score a lot less goals.

 

But we did get somewhere? We got higher in the table than with Bryan, Flint and Reid? 

[Silvio Dante]

Sky now reporting done at £22m and Webster heading for medical 

[Tears in rain]

3 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Sky now reporting done at £22m and Webster heading for medical 

Just seen this...  3M in add ons do we think? 

[BobBobSuperBob]

3 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Sky now reporting done at £22m and Webster heading for medical 

Bit gutted tbh , but at least it gives us a week to wheel and deal

[BRISTOL86]

3 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Sky now reporting done at £22m and Webster heading for medical 

Great deal for the club. As much as I don’t want to see him go that’s a mental deal and I’m excited to see what happens with incomings off the back of it. 

[ScottishRed]

2 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

Great deal for the club. As much as I don’t want to see him go that’s a mental deal and I’m excited to see what happens with incomings off the back of it. 

I agree,  we couldn't say no to that. Could be an interesting few days now.

[Fpcity]

Could be a busy day I reckon with a couple of incomings

[bcfc01]

Sorry to lose him but glad its all done tbh.

Now lets get that striker through the door...

 

[Guest]

Would be great if it's 22 + 5 add ons. Expect it's still 25 overall though. Great deal for club, and actually worth paying that by Brighton imo.

[cityexile]

Buying a player for £3.5m and then 12 month later get north of £20m is great business, and good luck to him. Money in the bank at this stage of the season get us no points however.

Feels a little like selling my house after 20 years. 'Blimey, look how much we made...wait...you cannot be serious about how much you want for yours!'.  

 

[Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan]

Sky saying it’s a record for a Championship player?

Is that true?

[AshtonGreat]

13 minutes ago, Luxo Jr. said:

But we did get somewhere? We got higher in the table than with Bryan, Flint and Reid? 

Yeah and a lot of that was to do with Webster

[slartibartfast]

Makes me laugh.......all through these protracted negotiations not a word on the BBC football "gossip" section, and yet you get minor snippets about the likes of Sunderland, Leeds and Reading !

[Onthefence]

Agree that this is a good deal for the club - sorry to see him go but wish him all the best and hope he pulls on an England shirt in the future.