The 24-year-old is bringing box-to-box midfield energy
18:06, 20 Jun 2025Updated 18:07, 20 Jun 2025
Adam Randell is introduced as a Bristol City player after signing from Plymouth Argyle – June 20, 2025(Image: BristoL City FC)
Bristol City have confirmed their first signing of the summer with a deal that brings Plymouth Argyle’s midfielder Adam Randell to Ashton Gate.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-year-deal for an undisclosed fee that is thought to be less than £1m. The deal will mean he is a Bristol City player until 2029, after spending his entire career so far at his hometown club in Devon.
Randell was part of Argyle’s academy and made his debut in November 2018 soon after turning 18. He has played 173 times for Plymouth, as well as a season on loan at Torquay when he turned 20, and became a regular in the Plymouth side that won promotion to the Championship in 2022-23.
But despite captaining the side in the second half of last season, his box-to-box exploits and eye for a goal was not enough to prevent Plymouth Argyle from being relegated back to League One. With one year left on his contract at Home Park, he has been sold to Bristol City to try to stake a place in a Championship side that finished in the play-offs last season.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be here.,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to being part of the project and I’m over the moon to finally get it done,” he added. “The aspirations of the club very much align with mine; they’re building something here that I want to be involved in.”
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Randell is the first signing under new manager Gerhard Struber’s reign as Bristol City manager, although the deal was in the pipeline before the Austrian took charge this week. City’s technical director Brian Tinnion said: “We’re really pleased to bring Adam to the club.
“He’s the exact profile of player we’re looking for as we look to build on a successful campaign last season,” he added.
What kind of player is Adam Randell?
Plymouth Live’s Argyle reporter Chris Errington has watched Adam Randell’s career blossom from a teenage academy product to the team’s captain. He said Bristol City have got a strong tackler and a playmaker.
“Randell made his Argyle debut at the age of 18 in an EFL Trophy tie away to Newport County in November 2018 but it was only after a season-long loan to Torquay United in 2020/21 that he really started to come to prominence at his hometown club,” said Chris.
“He was a regular member of the squad which won the League One title in 2022/23 with 101 points, beating Ipswich Town into second spot by a couple of points, and during Argyle’s time in the Championship over the last two seasons he proved to be a very consistent performer for them.
Adam Randell is introduced as a Bristol City player after signing from Plymouth Argyle – June 20, 2025(Image: BristoL City FC)
“Randell is more a defensive type midfielder, adept at picking the ball up from defenders and looking to set up attacks from deeper positions, and although not the biggest in terms of stature he is strong in the tackle and fiercely competitive.
“He can shoot well from distance, and is a threat at free-kicks in and around the opposition penalty area, so probably the main criticism from his time at Argyle was that he did not score as many goals as he probably should have done.
“Randell regularly captained Argyle in the Championship last term when Joe Edwards was out injured or not selected, and for a player of his still relatively young age that tells you a lot about his maturity and the level of respect he commands from his team-mates,” he added.