Town have completed the signing of Norwich City midfielder Marcelino Nunez on a four-year deal.
On Wednesday, the clubs agreed a fee of £7.5 million up front plus a further £2.5 million in add-ons for the Chilean international.
The 25-year-old, who currently has a minor ankle problem, joined the Canaries from Universidad Catolica - who are understood to be due 15 per cent of Norwich’s profit on the sale - in the summer of 2022 and went on to make 86 starts and 33 sub appearances, scoring 12 goals, including the free-kick which won the East Anglian derby for Norwich at Carrow Road in 2023/24.
Nunez, who has been capped 31 times by his country, scoring three goals, had a year left on his contract and is understood to have rebuffed the offer of a new deal on two occasions.
"It goes without saying, this is a significant transfer for all parties involved,” Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper told his club's official website.
"We absolutely understand the feeling and sentiment from our supporters at this time, and this was of course an extremely difficult decision for us to take.
"As with every transfer, there are many factors that we must consider, including the wishes of the player, their contractual position, team performance and, of course, the offer itself.
"Ultimately, when considering all of those aspects, we firmly believe that this is in the best interests of our club.
"We are committed to making what we feel are the best possible decisions for our football club, assessing all factors in the round, in both the short, medium and long term.
"Of the possible scenarios and outcomes that this situation has presented, we believe this is the one that leaves the club in the best position.”
Town have been looking to add to their central midfield options this summer with skipper Sam Morsy, Massimo Luongo and loanee Kalvin Phillips having departed.
The last player to make the move from Carrow Road to Portman Road on a permanent basis was keeper Andy Marshall in the summer of 2001, while other players have represented both clubs since then on a full-time or loan basis over the course of their careers, including David Wright, Jordan Rhodes, David Healy, Alan Lee, Matthew Bates, Kevin Lisbie and Brandon Williams.
More recently, Liam Gibbs turned down a contract with Town to join the Canaries in 2021, the clubs agreeing training compensation.
Among those who represented both clubs on a permanent basis prior to that were Clive Woods, Trevor Putney, John Deehan, Louie Donowa, Clive Baker, Johnny Miller, Peter Morris and Keith Bertschin.
Off the field, former Norwich striker Joe Royle managed the Blues and Paul Lambert both sides, while current Canaries boss Liam Manning, his assistant Chris Hogg and first-team coach/analyst James Krause are all former Town academy players and staff.
Nunez is the first Chilean to play for the Blues and is the third signing of the week following the additions of right-back Darnell Furlong from West Brom and striker Iván Azón, who has joined on loan from Serie A Como, last night.
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Recoleta-born Nunez takes the number of players at the club qualifying for the 25-man squad to 30, which means several players will have to move on or be left out and therefore unavailable for the first half of the season.
The Blues have also agreed a fee with FC Nordsjælland for 19-year-old Norwegian international forward Sindre Walle Egeli.