Town have completed the signing of Rennes midfielder Azor Matusiwa on a four-year deal.

The clubs are understood to have agreed a fee of €9 million (£7.8 million) for the Dutchman.

“I'm a person who likes to feel things and it felt immediately very good. In this moment I felt this is the club where I had to be,” Matusiwa told the club site.

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.

He had spells with De Graafschap (loan) and Groningen prior to moving to France and Reims in 2021.

Matusiwa played international football for the Netherlands at U16 and U21 levels but also qualifies for Angola, for whom his brother Diangi, who is now retired, won one cap.

The 5ft 8in tall midfielder is the second player the Blues have signed from French football today, Cédric Kipré’s season-long loan from Reims having been confirmed this afternoon.

In total, Town have now brought in three players with veteran keeper David Button having been added to the squad following his release by Reading.

Matusiwa’s recruitment raises questions regarding skipper Sam Morsy’s future with the two playing similar roles.

Earlier today, the Egypt international was linked with Derby County and we understand there is something in the claims of Rams’ interest.

We understand sides in the Middle East, among them one from Kuwait, are also keen on Morsy, who is 34 in September.

Photo: ITFC

SuffPunch added 20:18 - Jul 13 Nice. We are now casting our net further afield.
21

DavoIPB added 20:18 - Jul 13 Best signing for many a year.
5

flykickingbybgunn added 20:19 - Jul 13 Welcome Azor to Suffolk.
5

bluesissy added 20:24 - Jul 13 Wow...two in on a Sunday...good work town....now a striker and we can go into pre season with confidence and a spring in our step. Loving this.
8

blueboy1981 added 20:25 - Jul 13 Credit due for this - the direction currently to look for signings at last. Lets hope for another couple of signings this week. We need another Striker for sure the way it’s looking. Nice to see some incomings as apposed to continuous Club exits.
7

Marcus added 20:30 - Jul 13 I guess a like-for-like replacement for Phillips and/or Luongo. Could be a key part of the midfield rebuild. We'll need at least one more in a similar mould, especially if rumours of Morsy moving on are true.
5

Bramidan added 20:30 - Jul 13 I appreciate that the clips are edited but he does look impressive. We need a strong mid fielder and his distribution looks fast and accurate.
2

trevski_s added 20:31 - Jul 13 Nice, love how quickly this one came around and we always love the Dutch touch at Portman Road
6

ImAbeliever added 20:31 - Jul 13 Better day at the office today. Welcome Azor.
2

Tampa_Florida_Blue added 20:36 - Jul 13 Very happy with both signings. At least 1 more CM (hoping Jens will return) and that young Scottish striker Miller, and I will be happy if we have no more leaving.
1

ArnieM added 20:46 - Jul 13 Oh, yes. NOW we're talking!
0

dirtydingusmagee added 20:48 - Jul 13 Crikey Sunday ! what's going on ? think what Monday may bring LOL
3

ITFCSG added 20:50 - Jul 13 Yes! Finally casting the net wider, hopefully he slots in well with our other CMs. One more CM to go. Welcome to the Town Matusiwa!
1

blues1 added 20:59 - Jul 13 Blueboy1981. Yer, we need another striker, bit we shouldnt just rush to sign one. Need to make sure we get the right one.
3

bigolconnor added 21:03 - Jul 13 We seem to have a great habit of signing really lovely people in the last few seasons. Also good to see that these two new boys describe their main attribute as being aggression. That’s the different type of player that we are scouting now.
3

planetblue_2011 added 21:06 - Jul 13 Welcome aboard Azor to ITFC. He looks the real deal from the clips. Is a striker next COYBS
0

Draws_apoint_ added 21:15 - Jul 13 Hope our two new signings were given passes to Eds concert tonight....
1

FabianMalyon added 21:38 - Jul 13 Lovely to have some signings in early to help them bed in.
1

bluelad7 added 21:40 - Jul 13 England winning in style tonight and two signings for us tractor boys. Too much excitement but looking forward to work tomorrow.
1

atty added 21:59 - Jul 13 Great news. Hopefully same quality for the next midfield and new striker absolutely key signing.
0

Gforce added 22:01 - Jul 13 This is a top quality signing and one who i think could make the step up to the premier league if we can make it back there. Still got a feeling we'll sign two more central midfielders and quite possibly two strikers ( one being a youngster on loan ?)
1

IpswichT62OldBoy added 22:28 - Jul 13 Strong, aggressive, progressive passer, just what we need. Goody.
1

Guthrum added 22:34 - Jul 13 From those highlighs, he could do very well feeding long passes to Davis this season.
1

tetchris added 22:50 - Jul 13 The signings are like London buses lol. Hope the Mexican chap is next :)
0

armchaircritic59 added 23:32 - Jul 13 Now we really are getting somewhere, in my view we still need one more midfielder ( creative/forward thinking ), a replacement for AT, and at least one really proven striker, with hopefully a younger, promising one in reserve also, but as the likes of blueboy and others say, it's refreshing to get " ins " instead of "outs ". Still also waiting to see what happens with OH and for that matter JC, it's gone very quiet about him unless I've missed something. Teaming up with his old buddy from Reims might be interesting!

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