"I thought he’d be going for £3m at most" - Bristol City lauded for Middlesbrough, Tommy Conway transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit discussed the club's best bit of business this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol City enjoyed a successful summer transfer window with a number of players brought in, but our Robins fan pundit believes that their best bit of business actually came in the form of a departure.

Tommy Conway departed Ashton Gate and moved to Championship rivals Middlesbrough for a reported fee of £4.5million, ending his 15-year stay at Bristol City, but with the player's contract expiring next year and him making it clear that he wouldn't be signing a new one, the Robins were left with no option but to cash-in.

The 21-year-old had been a standout player for Liam Manning's side in recent seasons, and they would have wanted to keep him, but his contract situation meant they had to sell him to avoid losing him for free next summer, which would have been a disaster.

Selling Tommy Conway to Middlesbrough for £4.5m deemed Bristol City's best bit of business

Our Bristol City fan pundit, Tom Sandy, believes that despite the signings they've made, offloading Conway for a hefty fee was their best piece of summer business, and didn't expect to receive a fee of around £4.5million from Middlesbrough.

Speaking to Football League World, Tom said: "I think the best bit of business our club did this summer was selling Tommy Conway to Middlesbrough.

“Conway was a player who wanted to leave for quite a while, to be fair. At the beginning of summer, Manning spoke to him about a new contract and a contract was put on the table that was apparently a sizeable fee, and he turned it down straight away.

“From that point he was out of the project, he never trained with the first-team, he wasn’t in our squad list and, at that point, he was out of the project. He had one year left on his contract, he could either run it down and go wherever he wanted, but instead we managed to go out and get £4.5million for him from Middlesbrough.

“I was not expecting that at all. I thought he’d be going for £3m at most, but he’s a striker, and he’s young, so I get that they warrant a higher transfer fee, but in terms of productivity last season I don’t think he was fantastic, and he didn’t put too many performances in that would warrant that fee.

“I don’t think Middlesbrough needed another striker. On the weekend they played him as a ten, and he struggled there, but I’m surprised we got such a big fee for him, and I think that’s why it’s such a good piece of business, as it’s helped us bring in more players, with Scott Twine and Luke McNally joining as a result of that.

“It was a fantastic deal for the club, it was a good deal for Tommy, but I think he had higher aspirations as it was a bit of a sideways step compared to going to the Premier League or one of the big clubs in Scotland, but as far as I’m aware, nobody came in for him.

“We’ll have to see how he does and if the transfer fee warrants the player, good luck to him, but I think it was a great bit of business to sell a player who wasn’t part of our project this season for £4.5million.”

Selling Tommy Conway was a necessity for Bristol City

Conway is only 21 and was Bristol City's top scorer for the past two seasons, so they wouldn't have wanted to lose him, but as soon as he made it clear that he wouldn't sign a new deal, selling him was a necessity from a business point of view.

Losing their most-prized asset on a free transfer next summer would have been disastrous business from the club's board, and the fact they were able to bring £4.5million in for him was a good move and can subsequently be reinvested back into the squad, which it has.

The Robins have replaced Conway by signing the likes of Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong, and had they kept Conway at the club against his will, not only would they have lost him for free next summer, but he may have performed poorly as he would have been unhappy.

In an ideal world, Conway would have signed a long-term deal at Ashton Gate and everybody could have moved on, but selling him as soon as he made it clear he wanted to leave was the right thing to do, and the Robins' hierarchy will be pleased with the money they've brought in for the Scottish international.