Adam Matthews joined Bristol City on a season-long loan deal from Sunderland in the summer transfer window.
Bristol City chief operating officer Mark Ashton has explained to The Bristol Post how the transfer of Adam Matthews from Sunderland was completed.
Matthews moved to Championship club City on a season-long loan deal from Premier League side Sunderland in the summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old defender had a loan spell at the Robins during the 2015-16 campaign.
City COO Ashton has suggested that it was due to Sam Allardyce that a loan move for the former Celtic right-back was made possible in the summer transfer window.
Allardyce was expected to be in charge of Sunderland for the 2016-17 campaign, but the former Newcastle United and West Ham United boss left in July to take charge of the England national team.
Ashton has suggested that it was due to the Englishman that City were able to secure the services of Matthews on a season-long loan deal from Sunderland.
“At the end of the season, we were very clear that we wanted Adam Matthews,” Ashton told The Bristol Post. “But I got a full stop from the agent, who told me he was not for sale and not even available on loan. They told me the deal was not doable.
“Lee and I went to the agency and we went to the club and it was the same story. But you have to remember, this was not the player talking, and we were not going to take no for an answer.
“At that point, Lee and I went to Sam Allardyce. I’d played for him and Lee knew him extremely well. Sam could see the value of the deal and we knew Matthews was probably not in his plans.
“I’m not just talking about Sunderland, but clubs sometimes say a player is not for sale because X, Y and Z are after him. That’s where we needed better information and I had to know were those three clubs really in for Adam Matthews.
“We learned very quickly that they were not, at which point we knew that the deal would come back to us at a later stage in the window.”
Matthews is a good right-back, and he should prove to be a success at City.
The Scotland international has featured in two Championship matches for Lee Johnson’s side so far this season.
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