Ipswich are set to complete the signing of 20-year-old Ivory Coast-born right-back and midfielder Abdoul Ouattara from Strasbourg. (Sky Sports), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column
It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.
In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.
In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.
Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.
Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.
Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.
An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.
Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.
Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.
Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesIpswich Town have reached an agreement to sign forward Julio Enciso from Strasbourg.
The 22-year-old Paraguay international impressed under current Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil at Strasbourg last season.
The move would also mark Enciso's return to Ipswich after a six-month loan spell from Brighton in 2025.
Although the fee has not been disclosed at this stage, those involved believe it will account for a sizeable portion of the Suffolk club's remaining transfer budget and deliver Strasbourg a substantial profit on the £7.7m they paid for him last summer.
It remains unclear whether a deal for Enciso would surpass the £24m the Tractor Boys paid for Emersonn earlier in the transfer window.
Celtic and Ipswich Town are the clubs interested in Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has been told he can leave the club this summer. (Daily Express), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesChairman Mark Ashton acknowledges that one of the key lessons from Ipswich's previous Premier League campaign was the need to bring in more athletic players "with a different set of physical attributes".
The midfield lacked power and ball-winning ability in 2024-25, and it is imperative that new arrivals Florentino Luis and Sasa Lukic – both experienced at the highest level – hit the ground running. That will be especially important with last season's mainstays Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor doubtful for the opening game following operations over the summer.
It is no surprise that Gary O'Neil is also seeking greater cutting edge given that no Ipswich player scored more than 10 non-penalty goals in the Championship last season.
The Blues broke their transfer record to sign Brazilian striker Emersonn, 22, for an initial £24m. He certainly fits the desired physical profile but is relatively raw, having only established himself as a regular last season at Toulouse, where he scored seven goals in 31 appearances, 22 of them starts.
Daizen Maeda, a hardworking forward or winger, had an excellent record at Celtic, netting 79 times in 212 games, but won't get the same volume of chances in a team battling to stay up.
The Suffolk side have also recruited two Dutch goalkeepers, including Kjell Scherpen, whose imposing 6ft 9in (2.06m) frame means he is set to become the tallest player to appear in the Premier League.
With a new manager in place and a £30m training ground redevelopment close to completion, this could be a defining summer for Ipswich. But will their transfer business be enough to secure successive top-flight campaigns for the first time in a quarter of a century?
Only three promoted clubs have splashed out more in a summer window – Sunderland in 2025, Nottingham Forest in 2022 and Aston Villa in 2019 – and all survived.
Yet Fulham, Southampton, Burnley and Ipswich themselves have spent comparable figures in recent years only to swiftly return to the Championship - with that level of investment increasingly the bare minimum needed to be competitive rather than a guarantee of safety.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesStuart Watson, Chief football writer for the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star, joined BBC Radio Suffolk's Brenner Woolley on Monday's The Blue Hour to reflect on Ipswich's comfortable pre-season victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Leif Davis scored twice against last season's Conference League finalists on Saturday and new signing Emersonn added a third.
"It was great to see Emersonn get off the mark because he has come with a big fee," said Watson. "He's a young man, who has come over from Brazil, and only had a couple of years in Europe so far.
"From what I've seen, he's taken a step forward in every game that he has played so far and he took his header well [against Rayo Vallecano].
"Some of his link play was pretty smart, so encouraging signs.
"Gary O'Neil afterwards said that he has some 'deficiencies' in his game that they need to help him with and there is a rawness to him in terms of his technique.
"He hasn't got an incredible goal record behind him, but he clearly has a physical profile about him. We've spoken a lot about where Ipswich failed in the Premier League last time round and one of those things was physicality - so he's got that.
"He looks like someone who wants to drop deep, he can play well-weighted five-yard passes, and he presses. He was urging his team-mates to back him with the press.
"Enthusiasm won't be an issue, but his fitness is a little bit behind some of the other lads.
"On his day, I think he might be able to pose a few problems in the Premier League."
Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Ipswich Town page to get all Tractor Boys audio content.
Image source, Getty ImagesThis time around, chairman Mark Ashton says Ipswich have to be "a bit braver" in their approach to the Premier League, and the type of players the club are pursuing reflects that increased ambition.
Japanese attacker Daizen Maeda and Morocco centre-back Issa Diop were both on target at the World Cup this summer, and a third goalscorer from that tournament could follow.
The Tractor Boys have been linked with a move for Paraguayan forward Julio Enciso, who played under O'Neil at Strasbourg last season and had an injury-blighted loan spell at Portman Road during the second half of 2024-25.
While Kieran McKenna had enough credit in the bank to play the long game when promoted, Gary O'Neil knows he needs to forge a competitive side quickly.
"Two seasons ago, the club didn't get anywhere near staying in the division and this time we need to do better," he said last month. "That's why we're trying to add quality to the squad from different parts of the world and we're trying to add some different attributes."
The former Bournemouth and Wolves boss indicated after Saturday's 3-0 win against Rayo Vallecano that more incomings are likely, saying the "plan is to do quite a bit more".
Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesIpswich's previous recruitment model can be traced back to their four seasons in League One.
After guiding Town back to the Championship in 2023, Kieran McKenna admitted the club had made a "conscious decision" not to target overseas players because of the fast and frantic nature of England's third tier.
A largely unchanged – but tightly knit – squad then exceeded expectations by finishing second in the Championship in 2023-24, making Ipswich the first side in 12 years to reach the Premier League through back-to-back promotions.
At that point, the Blues' hierarchy could have ripped up the modus operandi that had served them so well and pivoted towards more extensive overseas recruitment. Instead, they doubled down on the approach, focusing mainly on emerging domestic talent largely unproven beyond the Championship.
A £100m summer spending spree brought Omari Hutchinson, Jack Clarke, Liam Delap, Dara O'Shea and Jacob Greaves to Portman Road – players who had primarily shone in the second tier but were identified as having the potential to develop into established Premier League performers.
Mindful that the odds were against survival, Ipswich also targeted players thought unlikely to baulk at remaining part of the project in the event of relegation.
McKenna's 'Championship all-stars' fell well short of safety, finishing second bottom with just 22 points, 16 adrift of 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
But once relegation had been confirmed, the Northern Irishman maintained that recruitment had been in the club's "best long-term interests", a view that has arguably since been vindicated.
Despite spending heavily on transfer fees, Ipswich's £77m wage bill was comfortably the Premier League's lowest in 2024-25. That restraint, coupled with a massive boost to TV income and the quick gain made on Liam Delap's move to Chelsea, enabled the club to post a £4m pre-tax profit for the financial year ending in June 2025.
Hutchinson's sale to Nottingham Forest later that summer provided another windfall but O'Shea, Clarke, Greaves and January 2025 arrival Jaden Philogene stuck around to play crucial roles as Town secured an immediate return to the top flight.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Premier League season is yet to get underway, but the second-round Carabao Cup draw has already been made.
As many as 11 Premier League teams are in the draw, with the format regionalised into northern and southern sections before round three.
Here is who the Premier League clubs have drawn:
Stoke v Hull
Newcastle v West Bromwich Albion
Nottingham Forest v Leeds
Preston v Everton
Ipswich v Leicester
Birmingham v Brentford
Fulham v AFC Wimbledon
Chelsea v Luton
Tottenham v Charlton
Plymouth v Coventry
All ties are to be played week commencing 24 August.
Celtic have joined Ipswich Town in "monitoring the situation" over 34-year-old goalkeeper Nick Pope's future with Newcastle United. (Daily Mail), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesIpswich defeated last season's Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in their penultimate pre-season friendly ahead of their Premier League return.
All of the goals at Portman Road came in the first half, with Leif Davis scoring twice and new signing Emersonn adding a third in what proved to be a comfortable victory.
Kjell Scherpen and Florentino Luis featured for Ipswich for the first time, with fellow new signing Sasa Lukic watching from the stands after his arrival was confirmed on Saturday morning.
Gary O'Neil's side now travel to Union Berlin for the final pre-season contest, before their Premier League opener against Sunderland on 22 August.
Graeme McLoughlin
BBC Radio Suffolk sports editor
Image source, Getty ImagesWes Burns was the first player brought in after the takeover of the club by Gamechanger 20 in April 2021, and what a signing he proved to be.
A little over five years later, he leaves Portman Road as one of the most popular players to ever wear a Town shirt, and heads to Leicester City with the best wishes of tens of thousands of Blues supporters.
Burns undoubtedly departs as a club legend, having played his part in three promotion winning campaigns.
The Welsh wizard has also treated us to some incredible moments on and off the pitch.
His iconic trivela goal against Coventry City in December 2023 was named EFL goal of the season, finishing off a move that was peak 'McKennaball' during the reign of Town's former manager Kieran McKenna. He was also a joy to speak to pre and post-match, offering great insight and humour.
Just over a year after joining Ipswich, Burns realised a dream of playing senior international football, and two years later he became a Premier League player.
These were moments he could have only dreamed of when he first arrived in Suffolk, but which he was thoroughly deserving of.
Join Graeme Mac for The Matchday Preview every Friday from 18:00 and subscribe to the Ipswich Town page on BBC Sounds - plus, listen to BBC Radio Suffolk for full commentary of every Tractor Boys game.
Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic is undergoing a medical at Ipswich Town as the clubs near an agreement over a permanent transfer.
The Cottagers are looking to sign a replacement and are now believed to be in pole position to sign Southampton's Shea Charles, although a fee has yet to be agreed.
Ipswich and Everton are among the clubs hoping to attract 27-year-old Senegal international Krepin Diatta, a right-sided player who can fill several positions and a free agent after his contract at Monaco expired in June. (Footmercato - in French), external
The Blues are also in advanced talks with Fulham over the permanent signing of 29-year-old Serbia midfielder Sasa Lukic. (Sky Sports), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesBBC Radio Suffolk's Graeme McLoughlin and Harvey Bell conclude their (3 in 4) Top 5 Ipswich series with a look at Town's best XI during the Kieran McKenna era.
The duo disagreed on goalkeepers, but were in agreement on Darnell Furlong's impact last season as Town finished second in the Championship to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Whilst deciding on their respective XI's, Harvey said Sam Morsy is arguably the best Ipswich Town signing of this century because of his crucial contributions on and off the pitch.
"If Sam Morsy didn't get in the team then there would have been no point in doing this series," Harvey joked. "He spearheaded the double promotion, driving the intensity and standards to those around him.
"An all-around brilliant captain. A club legend."
Listen in full below or on BBC Sounds here
The 2026-27 Premier League season has not yet kicked off, but it has already made history.
Nine clubs are set to begin the campaign with a new permanent manager - the highest number ever for the top flight's opening weekend.
The scale of turnover has dramatically reshaped the Premier League's managerial landscape.
The upheaval did not begin this summer. The 2025-26 Premier League season featured 11 managerial changes, with Forest among the clubs to make multiple appointments during the campaign.
The average tenure of a top-flight boss now stands at about 20 months, illustrating just how fleeting life in one of football's most demanding jobs can now be.
Recent history also suggests changing manager offers no guarantees. During the 2025-26 season, several clubs that switched coaches continued to struggle. Forest employed three managers during the campaign, Tottenham changed head coach twice, while Chelsea also altered direction before the season ended.
Others, however, did enjoy an immediate uplift. Michael Carrick averaged 2.6 points per game across his first five matches as Manchester United boss, while Liam Rosenior collected the same return after taking charge of Chelsea. Rosenior's tenure ultimately proved short-lived, though, with the Blues winning just one of his final eight Premier League matches before he was dismissed.
Research discussed in the Financial Times,, external external, drawing on findings from Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, argues that player quality and spending remain stronger predictors of results than managerial changes alone.
Sports consultancy Twenty First Group says coaches often succeed or fail according to the environment they inherit as much as their own abilities.
Since the Premier League began in 1992, only six managers have won the title in their first season in charge of their club.
Mourinho became the first to achieve the feat with Chelsea in 2004-05, before Carlo Ancelotti repeated it with the same club in 2009-10.
Manuel Pellegrini guided Manchester City to the title in his debut campaign in 2013-14, Claudio Ranieri masterminded Leicester City's remarkable triumph in 2015-16, Conte won the league in his first season at Chelsea in 2016-17, and most recently Slot led Liverpool to the championship in his maiden campaign in 2025-26.
With almost half the division beginning the campaign under new leadership, the Premier League enters one of its most unpredictable seasons in recent memory.
Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesNineteen-year-old striker Luca Fletcher joined Ipswich Town on a permanent deal in the summer after a successful loan spell from Manchester City.
While at City, rapid forward Fletcher, an England Under-17s international, helped the club reach the FA Youth Cup final in 2024 and 2025 before impressing at Ipswich, scoring six times in the Premier League 2.
He is yet to play a senior game, but has been training with Ipswich's first team, with new boss Gary O'Neil saying he has been impressed by the youngster.
Town's attacking options look limited with unproven Brazilian striker Emersonn, 22, joining for £24m, and Japan's Daizen Maeda also signing in an £8m move from Celtic.
In the Championship, the centre-forward duties were shared between George Hirst and on-loan Spaniard Ivan Azon.
However, Hirst, an unused member of Scotland's World Cup squad, only scored 11 league goals, while Azon only got five and has returned to parent club Como.
Read more on youngsters to watch at each Premier League club this season
Katharine Sharpe and Simon Casson
BBC Sport senior journalists
The 2025-26 Premier League and Championship seasons included the introduction of squad-cost ratio rules on a shadow basis, testing to see how a spending cap for squad costs set at a percentage of a club's total revenues might work.
These SCR regulations have now been permanently implemented for the 2026-27 season, replacing previous profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Uefa has a 70% SCR cap for European competitions, so Premier League clubs who qualified for Europe fall in line with this limit.
Clubs who did not qualify for Europe, and so are only taking part in domestic competitions, are capped at 85% of their total revenue.
However, clubs can spend above the 85% limit by using a multi-year rolling allowance of 30%. This allows them to invest ahead of revenue and variance or sporting underperformance.
Every club will start this coming season on 85% + 30% allowance, so effectively 115%.
If a club spends 105% on their squad in 2026-27, it means they have used 20% of their allowance, and for 2027-28 their maximum spend before potential sporting sanction is 95%.
If a club spend less than 85%, they can increase the allowance again to the maximum of 30%.
Spending above 85% but under the allowance results in a financial penalty, whereas going over both the 85% and the allowance will land the club a fixed six-point deduction which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the 115%.
'Anchoring' was also trialled in 2025-26, which meant any club's spending could not exceed a multiple of income earned by the bottom-placed club - however this was rejected at a vote of Premier League clubs.
SCR was approved by a vote of 14 clubs to six, and was introduced alongside sustainability and systemic resilience (SSR) regulations.
SSR involves three tests that are applied throughout the season:
Working capital test - assesses short-term cash resources
Liquidity test - assesses medium-term liquidity and resilience
Positive equity test -assesses long-term financial health
The aim of the SCR and SSR regulations is to stop the richest owners providing endless funds to their clubs to sign new players, as any money injected this way does not count as seasonal revenue.
They will also aim to prevent clubs from overspending and accruing unmanageable losses.
Read more about the rules here
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
Image source, Getty ImagesIpswich Town have completed the signing of Florentino Luís from Burnley, with the midfielder stating the club's long-term thinking was key in attracting him.
The 26-year-old - who already offers Premier League experience - has signed a five-year deal at Portman Road, joining for an undisclosed fee.
"It feels brilliant to be a part of this club," Florentino said.
"I think I will be very happy here. I like how the club sees the future and there are a lot of good players here. How the club is thinking to the long-term is one of the main reasons I came here.
"I can bring experience and balance to the team, between defence and attack, and I like to bring the connection.
"Now I have signed I can't wait to meet my teammates and the fans and get started with the team."
Luis made close to 200 appearances for Benfica before joining Burnley and on bolstering his midfield, Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil said: "We are delighted to have added Florentino to the group.
"He is a player who brings experience of playing in the Premier League as well as other major competitions in Europe, including the Champions League, and makes us stronger in central midfield.
"He brings quality off the ball, as well as on it, and we look forward to him joining up with the squad."
The Blue Hour (10/08/2026) Audio, 60 minutes
Brenner Woolley brings you special guests and the latest on Ipswich Town.
(3 in 4) Top 5: McKenna's best Ipswich Town XI. Audio, 26 minutes
Using Town players from the Kieran McKenna era only, what is the best possible line-up?
The Blue Hour (03/08/2026) Audio, 60 minutes
Brenner Woolley brings you special guests and the latest on Ipswich Town.
(3 in 4) Top 5: Ipswich Town goals. Audio, 22 minutes
What were the top 5 goals scored by Ipswich Town during the Kieran McKenna era?
