Ipswich Town must look at Brighton player with slight regret: View | OneFootball

The deal that saw Adam Webster move to Bristol City in the summer of 2018 may be looked back on with some regret by Ipswich Town.

Just one season later, he was on his way to Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion for a substantially higher fee, and has since gone on to become a top-flight mainstay.

His journey since leaving Portman Road may leave many at the Championship side wondering whether they could have got more from the deal at the time.

The defender arrived at Ipswich ahead of the 2016/17 season, while the club were still in the second flight, from Portsmouth, who were then in League Two.

It was reported that the fee was around £700,000 and the deal also saw Ipswich defender Matt Clarke move the other way.

Webster went on to make 53 appearances for the Tractor Boys over the following two seasons and would usually find himself in the starting XI when available.

His performances for Ipswich impressed, and prompted fellow Championship side Bristol City to strike a £3.5million deal for the centre-back, with clauses that could have raised the fee to £8million.

Bristol move looked like an astute deal at the time

Selling a player for triple the amount he was bought for just two years ago would usually be filed as good business without much debate, especially when added to the fact that the initial sum could itself double if clauses are met.

However, the deal that was to come just 12 months later puts a slight dampener on that claim.

Spending just one season at Ashton Gate, Webster was then sold again, this time to Brighton, for a club-record fee of £20million.

It turned out to be an incredible revenue generator for the Robins, and surely left those in the backroom at Ipswich questioning whether they'd maximised the potential of the sale a year previous.

Webster had far fewer injury concerns in the season before his Brighton move than he had suffered in his time with the Tractor Boys, which may go some way to explaining the disparity in the fees paid in a relatively short time, but it likely still left many at Portman Road feeling like they could have got more out of the deal.

It may be a case of true potential not spotted by Ipswich

The now 29-year-old was clearly rated highly by the Tractor Boys, with his number of starts at a relatively young age for a defender a clear demonstration of the confidence the club had in him.

However, had the second-tier side truly believed that Webster was capable of making over 100 Premier League appearances, for a top emerging side like Brighton, then they surely would have held out for more than the £3.5million base fee that they accepted from the Robins.

In hindsight, Webster was always destined for a stint in the top flight, and likely would have got there ahead of Ipswich, but looking back, it feels like an opportunity lost when considering the amount of money they could have brought in from the deal.