Ipswich Town have completed the signing of Argentina midfielder Exequiel Palacios from Bayer Leverkusen, making him the first World Cup winner to join the club.
The 27-year-old has moved to Portman Road for an undisclosed fee and signed a four-year contract with the newly promoted Premier League side.
Palacios arrives with extensive international and club experience. He was part of Argentina’s squad that lifted the 2022 World Cup and also reached the 2026 final with his country. The midfielder has additionally won the Copa America twice.
His only appearance at the 2026 World Cup came in Argentina’s 3-1 group-stage victory over tournament newcomers Jordan.
The deal makes Palacios Ipswich’s 11th signing of the summer as the club continues an ambitious recruitment drive following its return to the Premier League.
Palacios began his senior career with River Plate in 2015, helping the Argentine giants win the Copa Libertadores in 2018 as well as two Copa Argentina titles.
He moved to Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 and became an important member of the squad during one of the most successful periods in the German club’s history. Palacios made 24 appearances in Leverkusen’s historic 2023-24 Bundesliga title-winning campaign, when the club claimed the German championship for the first time.
During his six seasons at the BayArena, he also collected the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup under Xabi Alonso, who is now in charge of Chelsea.
Palacios leaves Leverkusen having made 186 appearances in all competitions and scored 15 goals.
Ipswich have now invested more than £150m since securing promotion to the Premier League. Their recruitment is not expected to stop with Palacios, with the club also advancing talks over a loan move for Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham.
Gary O’Neil’s side have made an encouraging start to the new campaign. Ipswich marked their Premier League return with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Portman Road before advancing to the third round of the Carabao Cup by eliminating League One side Leicester City.