Kipre Obligation Triggered But Not Cajuste's
Saturday, 2nd May 2026 21:03

Town’s promotion to the Premier League this afternoon is understood to have turned Cedric Kipre’s move from Ligue 2 Stade Reims into a permanent switch, but Jens Cajuste hasn’t made enough appearances this season to trigger the obligation included in his loan deal.

Kipre and Cajuste both joined the Blues on loan for the season last summer, the Swedish midfielder for a second campaign.

According to Fabrizio Romano, an obligation to buy Kipre for €2.5 million (£2.16 million) has been triggered, although last summer the figure was reported as €4.5 million (£3.9 million).

Ivorian international Kipre made 29 Championship starts and three sub appearances, scoring three goals, including the opener in the East Anglian derby victory over Norwich at Portman Road.

Cajuste, one of the standout performers in the Blues’ 2024/25 Premier League campaign, has made only 13 Championship starts and 17 sub appearances this season and, according to Romano, this is not enough to activate the obligation to buy for €7.5 million (£6.5 million) in his loan deal from Napoli.

The clause required promotion and the Sweden international to play 50 per cent of the Blues’ games. Although Cajuste has played 30 games in total, it seems likely he was required to start half Town’s Championship matches.

However, the Blues could still opt to sign the Gothenburg-born midfielder anyway with the terms of the clause available to them until June 10th.

Photo: Matchday Images

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Jbarrrell added 21:08 - May 2 Sign Jens up ffs
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jas0999 added 21:10 - May 2 Small money for Kipre. Whether he is PL class … Can’t see us signing Jens sadly. We need much better to survive next season.
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oioihardy added 21:13 - May 2 Personally think that is good value for a squad player in jens . Adds depth we need and some quality
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Tampa_Florida_Blue added 21:19 - May 2 People seem to have short memories, last season in a more technical Priemer league, Jens was a top player, but not so effective in the rough and tumble championship. I still hope he stays.
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tractordamage added 21:19 - May 2 And Akpom? A Nigerian sport site claims Ajax have rinsed us for millions. Hope not.
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trevski_s added 21:27 - May 2

Out of the loanees this season, I don't mind signing Kipre as he has done well in defence, yes he seemed to slip a bit after his 2 game suspension but he could be a good solid defender for next season even if its just a backup defender and the pay out aint too much either. I wouldnt be opposed to signing Azon either as I reckon under McKenna he could eventually get there and could be another one for backup next season (as long as we sign a 3rd striker)

I wonder if thats why Akpom and Cajuste weren't played as much twoards the end as McKenna decided he didn't want to trigger the clause. I know the Championship was probably too much (in terms of scheduling) for Cajuste but he didn't seem quite the same as last season (which was a shame as he showed flashes)

Europa added 21:34 - May 2 I got the impression the other day that McKenna was suggesting Cajuste's style suited the PL more than the Championship. Which planted the seed in my mind that he might have designs on him for the next season.
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rjm added 21:36 - May 2

Jens definitely worth £6.5m, not much better quality you’re going to get for that much money. He’s not good enough to start alongside Matusiwa obvs but for building a prem squad, seeing how quality he was at that level last year is a steal really. He hasn’t performed at championship level but that’s bc he is a rolls royce typa player. Would much rather Jens than Chuba.

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 21:46 - May 2 Cajuste is a Swedish international with at least 25 senior appearances. For me, that suggests he could do a job for us in the more technical environment of the PL.
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John_Grose added 22:05 - May 2 My colleague is an Ajax season ticket holder and is convinced we have to pay 7m Euros for Akpon now we have gone up. Hoping not.....
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eirannach_gorm added 22:24 - May 2 Kipre is good value for a backup player. Think he is a bit ponderous for the Premiership but would be a good squad player. Cajuste does not do enough in a two man midfield but I think he would be ideal further forward. I have been underwhelmed by both Mehmeti and Nunez. His aversion to defending would not be an issue.
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tetchris added 22:26 - May 2 I’m hoping MA can pay Ajax some compensation to get out of the deal!
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Len_Brennan added 22:34 - May 2

We have to look at what our midfield will be in the Premier League.
We assume that Matusiwa will be able to step up, but he's unproven at that level as yet;
Taylor has been great this season, but he's not a PL starter of choice;
Nunez has quality, but has done his best work for us as a #10, & even then he's been pretty poor over the last month;
Neil will not be signed;
Humphreys will no doubt be sold to an upper L1 or lower Championship side.
So in that reality, can we risk signing Cajuste, notwithstanding how good he can look ghosting past opposition, even in the PL, SOME OF THE TIME?
We have seen the impact & importance of Xhaka for Sunderland this season, we need to bring someone in with that kind of presence, to play alongside Matusiwa in what will sure be a more conservative style pivot this time around, possibly even a midfield 3 in some games.
I would go for Jordan James ahead of Cajuste if we could, if he'd be open to it.

RetroBlue added 22:47 - May 2

I dont think the Club can afford to be sentimental ( and dont think thrybeill beveither).
The glaring " miss", for me in our midfield, is pace. We must s0ign players with genuine pace. Some Championship teams this season killed us through the middle of the park during transition, and the PL did too, but at blitzkreege pace. We hopefully will learn from our previous PL experience with regards to recruitment, because there have been some costly errors...

michaeldownunder added 23:15 - May 2 If Bro don't go up, I think we will go in again for Hackney
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Jugsy added 00:07 - May 3 Buy Jens, the Prem suits him way better. The championship doesn’t fit all players, just ask Leicester.
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armchaircritic59 added 00:56 - May 3

tractordamage, I only hope for your sake that you don't pay any attention to anything eminating out of Nigeria. I bet I'm not the only poster in here who has had emails from some " prince " or other saying I can claim £20k ( or some other sum ) if I just send £5k so they can release it! I'm not even going to state what I've sent back in reply, but it certainly wasn't £5k!

Bazza8564 added 06:48 - May 3 Sign Kipre, pass on Jens and hope that Akpom clauses on appearances werent triggered. We will go in for Hackney but Everton are front runners, it's going to be an interesting summer!
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Monkey_Blue added 07:33 - May 3 For that money both would be great value. Cajuste clearly suits the prem more than the championship. My bigger concern is Akpom… hopefully we don’t have to buy him because he’s not worth over £50k a week. He’d be better off getting a pay off from Ajax and signing for a championship club on sensible wages.
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ernie added 07:41 - May 3 A lot of people have very short memories. Cajuste was totally ineffective last year in the prem. by what metric was he a ‘ stand out performer’? Very low goals and assists output. We need much much better if we are going to survive next year.
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MVBlue added 07:53 - May 3 We need our Xhaka. We really need a top midfielder and striker and defender.
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TownSupporter added 08:00 - May 3

We need to sure up the midfield. Would play Matusiwa dm and have a box to box midfielder and preferably someone that can ping a ball. We wont get away with having a 2 man midfield. We cannot play the formation we have this season - we would be destroyed and left wide open through the middle.

Not sure Cajuste fits what a relegation battling team requires.

Most important position is striker.

Recruitment needs to be 100% better than last time.

BeachBlue added 08:59 - May 3

I don't doubt Cajuste 's ability or what he did in the Premier League
I doubt his fitness.
If we can't get 90+ minutes out if him then we'll have to move on.
I'm sorry but some tough decisions will be made this summer with players leaving, Chaplin, Burns, H. Clarke, Music (possibly Palmer), Townsend.
I'd keep Kipre as a squad player behind Greaves. Azon, love his enthusiasm but don't think he's up to it, Akpom can go now.

tractorboybig added 09:10 - May 3 Jens is no loss and kipre only back up the others not good enough
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bignics added 10:24 - May 3 Hackney 10 times better than Cajuste who didn’t set the world alight last time in the prem. if we have backed ourselves into a corner and have to sign Akpom someone needs to be fired he is sooo poor! We need to avoid the mistakes of last time top championship players en mass doesn’t work!
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