Ipswich Town handed huge transfer breakthrough - one hurdle still remains | OneFootball

The 25-year-old spent last season on loan at Ipswich Town.

Ipswich Town have made a major breakthrough in their pursuit of Napoli midfielder Jens Cajuste, with the Tractor Boys having reached an agreement with the Serie A giants.

Ipswich are preparing for a trip to Birmingham City on 8 August to open up their 2025/26 Championship campaign.

Kieran McKenna has already added Azor Matusiwa, Ashley Young, David Button and Cédric Kipré to his ranks so far this summer, and could now be set for another signing.

Ipswich Town agree Napoli deal for Jens Cajuste

It was recently reported by Gazzetta dello Sport that Cajuste was keen to play Premier League football next season, which appeared to put Burnley in pole position for his signature.

However, that now looks to have changed.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed via X on Saturday that Ipswich Town and Napoli have reached an agreement for the 25-year-old, which means that any move to Besiktas is now off.

The Turkish outfit were close to agreeing a deal with the Italian giants for the Swedish international earlier in the window, but that transfer was put on hold when the Tractor Boys registered their interest.

According to Romano, Ipswich have agreed to pay a loan fee of €2m/£1.7m, with a €7.5m/£6.5m buy option in the contract, which also stipulates that Town must buy the central midfielder if promoted to the Premier League.

Cajuste spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Ipswich, and if McKenna's side had avoided relegation from the Premier League, they'd have been obliged to buy the Swede for €12 million/£10.4m.

The midfielder was one of the Suffolk outfit’s most consistent performers throughout last term, starting 25 times, adding a single goal and assist. However, there still remains one hurdle for the club to jump before he becomes an Ipswich player once again.

That's because Romano also states that the green light is still needed from Cajuste to confirm the move, with a decision expected soon.

Burnley could still play a factor in Ipswich’s pursuit of Jens Cajuste

Ipswich supporters will be delighted to hear that they have agreed a deal for Cajuste due to his brilliant performances last term, but the transfer is far from concluded.

The Tractor Boys are operating out of the Championship next term, which isn’t where the 25-year-old is believed to be wanting to play his football, with it being believed he'd prefer a move back to the Premier League.

Burnley have previously been linked with the midfielder, with the Clarets’ interest in Cajuste reported by journalist Sacha Tavolieri to be "concrete," as Scott Parker likes his profile.

Therefore, if the East Lancashire outfit can match what Ipswich have stumped up for the Napoli man, it would be down to Cajuste over where his immediate future lies.

McKenna and Co. have already played their hand, and the Swede clearly wouldn’t oppose a move to Portman Road, after putting his move to Besiktas on hold after the Tractor Boys entered the picture.