The EADT and Ipswich Star understands that the Blues haven’t broken their transfer record to sign 22-year-old Paraguayan star Enciso, with the total package of €30.5m (£26m) not quite eclipsing the €28m + €3m (£26.5m total) paid to bring in Brazilian striker Emersonn from Toulouse earlier this summer.

Meanwhile, the fee paid for Ouattara, an ultra versatile 20-year-old from the Ivory Coast, is understood to be around €20m (£17m) + a potential further €5m (£4.3m) in add-ons, meaning that deal could reach £21.3m.

The pair reunite with manager Gary O’Neil at Portman Road having worked with him at Strasbourg in the second half of last season. Both will sign five-year contracts.

Enciso returns to Suffolk having scored two goals in 13 appearances during a loan spell from Brighton in the second half of the 2024/25 Premier League relegation campaign. His long-range strike at Everton was a memorable moment.

A versatile attacker who can play as a No.10 or inside forward, he’s already been capped 37 times by Paraguay and scored against Germany during this summer’s World Cup.

Ouattara played a mixture of right-back, right wing-back, left-back and central midfield for Strasbourg last season, featuring prominently in their run to the UEFA Conference League semi-finals.

Due to his age, he won’t count towards Ipswich’s 25-man senior squad limit.

The duo will become Town’s 11th and 12th signings of the summer and take the total transfer window spend so far above £150m.

A striker and defender are understood to still be on the Blues’ shopping list, with chairman Mark Ashton having told the EADT and Ipswich Star the club’s owners have urged him to push ‘right to the limits’ of financial fair play rules.

Ipswich host Sunderland in their Premier League opener on Saturday, with the transfer window closing at 11pm on Tuesday, September 1.

TOWN SIGNINGS SUMMER 2026

July 1: Cedric Kipre (Reims, £2.1m, loan made permanent)

July 1: Chuba Akpom (Ajax, £7m, loan made permanent)

July 8: Emersonn (Toulouse, £24m)

July 21: Kayden van Oevelen (FC Volendam, £3.4m)

July 21: Abdul Fatawu (Leicester, £20m)

July 22: Issa Diop (Fulham, £8.5m)

July 25: Daizen Maeda (Celtic, £8m)

July 28: Kjell Scherpen (Union Saint-Gilloise, £8.5m)

Aug 4: Florentino Luis (Burnley, £16m)

Aug 7: Sasa Lukic (Fulham, £9m)

Total spend: £106.5m