Bristol City Reject £12m Bid From Aston Villa for Defender Adam Webster as Robins Hold Out for £30

Aston Villa have had a £12m bid for Bristol City defender Adam Webster rejected, with the Championship side thought to value him far higher.

The 24-year-old, who joined from Ipswich Town last summer, was Bristol City's Player of the Year last season and has attracted interest from a number of Premier League sides.

​Villa are one of those sides to be keen but, according to ​Sky Sports, their initial £12m bid was quickly rejected by ​Bristol City.

The Robins are in no rush to part ways with one of their top performers, and the ​Bristol Post claim that they will demand up to £30m from any side who wants to lure Webster away from Ashton Gate Stadium this summer.

Bristol City hope that their asking price will scare off any other ​Championship sides, whilst the majority of ​Premier League teams will also be wary of spending such a figure on a player with no top-flight experience.

Alongside Villa, ​Newcastle United, ​Leicester City, ​Southampton and ​Everton are all thought to be incredibly keen on the 24-year-old, although they may be forced to drop their interest if the Robins refuse to negotiate.

Bristol City are thought to have a list of alternatives if Webster does leave the club this summer, but they remain confident that they will be able to keep Webster at Ashton Gate as they push for promotion to the Premier League.

He made 47 appearances for the Robins last season, helped them to an eighth-placed finish in the Championship. Manager Lee Johnson is eager to retain his side's top players, in the hope that they will be able to push on and improve next season.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol (via the ​Brist​ol Post), Johnson said: "If you’re a Premier League club and you’re not looking at Adam Webster then you’re not doing your business properly.

"He’s a player we definitely want to keep and want to build around. You can never say never in football because if it was a top-six Premier League side that’s chucking out serious money then we’d have to take a view, but at this point, there’s absolutely no intention of moving Webby on."