Town are reported to have agreed an €11.5 million fee for Rennes midfielder Azor Matusiwa with the Blues close to making the Dutchman their first outfield signing of the summer.

Earlier, reports in France indicated that Matusiwa had been pulled out of the squad playing a friendly with Saint-Brieuc this morning as negotiations with the Blues were advanced.

According to L’Equipe, a fee of €11.5 million (£9.9 million) plus add-ons has been agreed between the clubs.

Rennes manager Habib Beye, who previously had told the Hilversum-born schemer he was unable to guarantee him playing time, confirmed after his side's friendly that “Matusiwa is on his way out”.

The 27-year-old defensive midfielder joined Rennes from Reims in January 2024 for €16 million (£13.8 million) having started his career at Ajax, after joining the Amsterdam club as a schoolboy from Almere City, before spells with De Graafschap (loan) and Groningen prior to moving to France and Reims in 2021.

Matusiwa, who is contracted to his current club until 2028, played international football for the Netherlands at U16 and U21 levels but also qualifies for play for Angola.

The 5ft 8in tall midfielder is the second France-based player reported to be closing in on a move to the Blues over the last 24 hours with Reims defender Cédric Kipré having been reported to be nearing a loan move to Town yesterday.

Photo: Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

bluebullet29l added 13:59 - Jul 10 No comment
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planetblue_2011 added 14:06 - Jul 10 That’s more like it, get deal done COYBS
5

RIPbobby added 14:07 - Jul 10 Looks like an Ipswich deal. Straight out of left field. Good luck fella.
9

smithlarr added 14:11 - Jul 10 Nice to see we are scouting outside of the UK for a change!
21

TimmyH added 14:11 - Jul 10 So he's gone down in value since his last move (won't read too much into that) - hopefully we've unearthed a decent player, certainly at Championship level.
1

BlueInBerks added 14:15 - Jul 10 Another Dutchman at long last!
8

GTRKing added 14:16 - Jul 10 Know naff all about him! But happy for another CDM/CM Happy days
2

Lion added 14:22 - Jul 10 In Kieran and Mark Ashton I trust but slightly surprised we are looking at a 5 foot 8 midfielder. The noticeable thing about last season to the last time we were in the premier was that all the players are physical giants. That was a big part in the likes of Omari, Jack Clarke, Leif etc struggling to make an impact because they got outmuscled by the physical beasts they were playing against. The smaller players of the established teams we played against were sort of starting at 6 ft! Mark Ashton alluded to this, we all know Kieran loves a baller, but MA alluded to the fact that the club was going to change the policy of profiling potential signings to include physical stature so that if we can get back to the prem we had players who not only were technically gifted but could also physically compete. Its just an observation, not a criticism. Up the farkin Towan!

4

Jugsy added 14:25 - Jul 10 The Morsy successor?
1

kuyski added 14:27 - Jul 10 Good for this but we still need 4 more at least,1xCM, 1xCM and 2xstrikes .
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kuyski added 14:31 - Jul 10 corrections:1xCB, 1xCM and 2xstrikes .
2

Kentish_Tractor added 14:31 - Jul 10 I think strength and ability to shield/hold up the ball in the pivot is more important than height. Ngolo Kante was small but was one of the best DMs the Premier League has ever had. Must admit I've never heard of him so have no idea how he plays or what his strengths/weaknesses are. But i hope we've done our scouting and that he improves our team. Hopefully he can receive the ball from the keeper or the defence and do something with it. Hope he has a decent engine too. We desperately need midfielders.

5

Broadbent23 added 14:37 - Jul 10 Looks a decent player. Hopefully shore up our poor defensive record. Now we need a 6ft midfielder non African, then some strikers and a defender. The only negative bit is he could be called up for the African Nations (so could SM). A creditable addition to start with.
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Wussinwhiteboots added 14:45 - Jul 10 I've only watched the 'highlights' but, he appears to win the ball, move forwards and pass forwards to the feat of a team mate. If defensive midfielders came in cans I'd buy an can that says that.
2

blues1 added 14:50 - Jul 10 Lion. Just bcse hes 5ft 8 doesnt mean he isn't physical tho does it. And thats what ashton was talking about, physicality. Claude Makelele, former chelsea player, for example is only 5ft 9. Never prevented him from being physical.
5

rickw added 14:54 - Jul 10 Dutch midfielder + ITFC = Success! :-)
3

OldFart71 added 14:55 - Jul 10 The last time we got a dutch midfielder Arnold Muhren we had a gp out and buy another one to compliment him, Frans Thyssen.
0

blues1 added 14:56 - Jul 10 KUYSKI . We only need 1 more cm alert him. And a striker. Dont need 2. Already have hirst, plus Szmodics can play there. And kipre, who we are apparently also close to signing is a cb.
0

timbousa added 14:58 - Jul 10 I have to watch quite a lot of French football (long story). I am not familiar with the player, however, if you can handle yourself in the centre of the park in Ligue 1 then you can do it in the Championship as well. Rennes is a solid team and he made 29 appearances last season in the league, so not a bench warmer by any means. Also, we are always better with some Dutch in the squad!

5

johnwarksshorts added 15:00 - Jul 10 Looks good on the ball and can certainly pick out a pass. Very forward looking passes. Looks very strong so height shouldn't be an issue.
1

PortmanTerrorist added 15:14 - Jul 10 Thyssen 2.0! We can dream
2

bluebullet29l added 15:19 - Jul 10 Let's face it no one on here has ever heard of him so to go on saying what a good player he is.....welll it's compete tosh
0

blueboy1981 added 15:19 - Jul 10 Shall we wait and see ? - before another Fans Hissy Fit ?
2

blues1 added 15:29 - Jul 10 Broadbent23. It saus he qualifies to play for Angola. Hasnt played for them so far, so maybe unlikely to get called up for that. Would hope not anyway.
0

flykickingbybgunn added 15:30 - Jul 10 Morsy successor ? Big shoes to fill. Let's hope so.
0

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