Blues target Jaden Philogene is at Portman Road undergoing his medical ahead of his £20 million plus add-ons move to Town from Aston Villa.
The deal to sign the 22-year-old was agreed last night with the player set to sign a four-and-a-half-year contract. A formal announcement is expected later today once the medical is completed.
Philogene has long been a Town target with links first surfacing in the summer of 2023 before the England U21 international moved from Aston Villa to Hull City.
In July last year, the Blues had agreed a joint-deal with the Tigers for the forward and teammate Jacob Greaves with the Philogene side of the proposed move understood to be worth £18 million and the player having agreed personal terms at Portman Road.
However, his former club Villa had 72 hours within which to exercise matching rights as part of the deal they had agreed with the Tigers the previous summer, which they did and Philogene returned to Villa Park for £13 million - the Midlanders also taking advantage of their 30 per cent sell-on - with the forward signing a five-year contract.
But Philogene made only three starts - two in the Premier League - and 11 sub appearances for Villa in the first half of the season and speculation regarding a swift exit began to surface before the January window opened.
Town and Everton, another of the clubs interested in the summer, both made approaches with the Blues ultimately stealing a march on the Toffeemen.
The Londoner reportedly agreed to sign for the Blues following a personal phone call with manager Kieran McKenna.
The Blues have been in the market for a number of forwards this window with a centre-forward a priority and two players for the roles behind on the list.
Earlier in the week, Town were reported to be readying a deal worth £30 million for 23-year-old Brazilian striker Igor Jesus, who is currently with Botafogo in his home country, however, that’s believed to be overstating the interest as it stands.
We understand Jesus is a player Town have known about for some while and like - as is the case with a number of Premier League clubs with Arsenal, Fulham and Brentford also having been linked - but is currently one on a list with the Blues monitoring the situation.
On Friday, Liverpool rebuffed a £16 million offer for Scotland international forward Ben Doak, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough, with Crystal Palace also having made a bid.
We understand the Blues are maintaining their pursuit of the 19-year-old with the Eagles similarly continuing their interest and the Reds said to want a fee between £25 and £30 million.