How much Ipswich Town are actually paying for Cedric Kipre - it's a bargain | OneFootball

The exact fee that Ipswich Town will be paying to sign Cedric Kipre permanently has been revealed in a new update

Ipswich Town celebrated promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking by cruising past QPR in a resounding 3-0 victory on the final day of the Championship season, ensuring the Tractor Boys' return to the promised land irrespective of results elsewhere.

Middlesbrough were held to a 2-2 draw at Wrexham AFC and while third-placed Millwall did claim a 2-0 win over already-relegated Oxford United, the Lions missed out on automatic promotion by a single point as Ipswich's 2-2 draw away to Southampton on Wednesday evening meant that all three points against QPR would guarantee a second-placed finish behind Coventry City.

Ipswich will now be preparing for life at Premier League level once more, and with every intention of righting their wrongs following a disappointing relegation campaign in the 2024/25 season off the back of successive promotions.

Popular head coach Kieran McKenna will, of course, know that significant work is required in order for the Tractor Boys to establish competitiveness this time around, and numerous crunch transfer decisions await the Northern Irishman in the coming weeks and months.

McKenna will not, however, have any such decision to make on the future of Cedric Kipre, who will now be moving to Portman Road on a permanent basis after promotion triggered Town's obligatory purchase clause for the defender's services from French outfit Reims.

But, after previous reports earlier this year suggested that Ipswich's deal for Kipre contained a €4.5m (£3.9m) option-to-buy clause, the truth of the agreement and how much the Premier League-bound outfit will really be shelling out has emerged in a fresh update that the Town faithful may just love.

How much money Ipswich Town really have to pay for Cedric Kipre revealed

A fresh update from Fabrizio Romano in the wake of Ipswich's promotion has laid claim to the deal and the amount of money it's going to set the Tractor Boys back by as they prepare to complete the club's first piece of business ahead of returning to the Premier League.

On Saturday evening, Romano revealed via his official X account that promotion has turned Kipre's stay in Suffolk into a permanent one, triggering Town's purchase obligation.

That clause, according to Romano, sits at just €2.5 million (£2.1 million), representing a much lower investment than the previously-reported fee beckoning upon the completion of Kipre's loan stint.

It's likely to be viewed as something of a bargain by at all Ipswich, where Kipre has established himself as a key performer throughout the campaign.

The 29-year-old rocked up at Portman Road in July with a proven body of work at Championship level through prior spells with Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff City before heading over to France for a single season at Reims.

Competition for places in McKenna's well-stocked side has been stiff all year long and Kipre did lose his place behind Jacob Greaves and Dara O'Shea at the centre of defence in the back-end of the season, playing just 203 minutes of football across Ipswich's final eight matches.

However, the one-cap Ivory Coast international has been a regular fixture in Ipswich's promotion overall by featuring in 32 Championship outings, 29 of which were starts.

Exactly what role awaits Kipre in the Premier League is yet to be seen, with the ex-Baggies star having never played at that level in his career, but he's set to be kept around in what feels like a bargain deal for McKenna's men.

Ipswich Town have landed Cedric Kipre transfer bargain

Regardless of how prominent Kipre's presence turns out to be in Ipswich's mission to secure top-flight survival next season, there's little denying that the agreed deal represents excellent value for money as far as the Tractor Boys are concerned.

One would assume that the towering defender will be utilised as a squad player by McKenna, where he will be able to offer ample depth and step in when needed while also posing a crucial threat from set pieces.

Imperious in both boxes, Kipre has been among the top defenders in the Championship for a few years now and will be ready-made to help Ipswich straight back to promotion if they do end up suffering an immediate relegation once again.

That, of course, is anything but the aim for Ipswich, who will now be vying to establish themselves in the Premier League, but either way, it's hard to see how the Tractor Boys lose out from this deal.