Argentina midfielder Exequiel Palacios has become the first World Cup winner to sign for Ipswich Town after joining from Bayer Leverkusen. Palacios, 27, left the Bundesliga club for an undisclosed fee and has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League newcomers. He was part of the Argentina side that both won the World Cup in 2022 and reached the final this summer while he also won the Copa America twice with his country.
"This is a club with great ambition and I am excited to play football in England and compete against some of the best clubs and players in the world," Palacios said. Palacios, Ipswich's 11th signing of the transfer window, started Argentina's 3-1 win against World Cup debutants Jordan in the group stage in his only appearance at the 2026 tournament. Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil added: "He is a player who has had real success at the top level of the game, winning the biggest prize of all in the World Cup, as well as major trophies at club level.
"That experience will be vital for us as we continue to work to improve the squad this summer." Palacios made his senior debut for his boyhood club River Plate in 2015 and won the Copa Libertadores in 2018 and the Copa Argentina twice. He moved to Germany in 2020 and made 24 appearances as Leverkusen claimed their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023-24. Under current Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, he also won the DFB Pokal and the German Super Cup during his six years at the BayArena.
He departs Leverkusen after making 186 appearances and scoring 15 goals. Ipswich have spent more than £150m since returning to the Premier League and are also progressing with a move to sign Tammy Abraham on loan from Aston Villa. They made a winning return to the top flight, defeating Sunderland 2-1 at Portman Road and have also reached the third round of the Carabao Cup at the expense of League One Leicester City.
Chelsea agree £7.5m fee for Villa's Martinez Forward Cho becomes Hull's 12th summer signing Villa sign Goretzka - what went wrong at Bayern and what will he bring? Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page
Extract — continue reading at the source.
