Brighton complete club record deal for Championship's top centre-back

 

Brighton have smashed their transfer record to sign centre-back Adam Webster from Bristol City, the club has confirmed.

The 24-year-old only arrived at Ashton Gate from Ipswich last summer for a fee in the region of £3.5m but a year later the Robins have reportedly banked a £20m profit on the defender.

Webster arrives amid speculation linking Lewis Dunk with a move away from the Amex but new boss Graham Potter is believed to be interested in lining up with a back three that would see the new signing play alongside the captain, as well as Shane Duffy.

Webster has joined the Seagulls having been linked with a number of Premier League clubs over the summer, with Bristol City initially believed to be demanding £30m for their star performer from last season.

 

 

Brighton are thought to have paid somewhere in the region of £25m for a player who secured the highest WhoScored.com rating of any centre-half in the Championship last season (7.30).

 

Albion head coach Graham Potter said, “Adam is a player the club has been aware of for sometime, and someone we came up against last season at Swansea City.

 

 

“He is a quality defender, comfortable on the ball, fits the profile of the type of player we want to bring to the club, and he was very keen to join us.

“He is still relatively young, but has good experience from the number of games he has played. Predominately a centre-half, he can also play at right-back, and he will bring additional competition alongside our existing defensive options.”