Ipswich Town Eyes Julio Enciso Reunion as O’Neil Targets Strasbourg Star

Ipswich Town are lining up a move to bring Julio Enciso back to Portman Road, with the club’s new manager Gary O’Neil pushing to reunite with the Paraguayan forward, according to Sky Sports.

Enciso, 22, knows the surroundings already. He spent the second half of the 2024–25 season on loan with the Tractor Boys from Brighton & Hove Albion, making 13 appearances and chipping in with two goals and three assists. It was a brief spell, but enough to leave the sense that there was unfinished business in Suffolk.

Now the landscape has changed. O’Neil, recently appointed as Ipswich boss, has already worked closely with Enciso at RC Strasbourg Alsace and is understood to be eager to build his new-look side around the kind of direct, incisive attacking play the forward offers. The relationship forged in Alsace could prove decisive.

Enciso has grown since he left Portman Road. Since arriving in France last summer, he has become one of Strasbourg’s most influential players, racking up 42 appearances in all competitions and proving decisive 21 times, with 12 goals and nine assists. Those are the numbers of a player who doesn’t just decorate games but decides them.

His form has travelled well onto the international stage. A key part of Paraguay’s World Cup squad, the Caaguazú-born attacker played a major role in their impressive surge to the round of 16, including helping to knock Germany out of the tournament. That kind of high-pressure pedigree only sharpens his appeal.

Any deal, though, will not be straightforward. Enciso is tied to Strasbourg on a long-term contract running until 2030, and his current valuation sits at around €25m, according to Transfermarkt. For Ipswich, it would be a statement signing, the kind that signals clear intent rather than quiet consolidation.

The question now is simple: can Ipswich turn familiarity, and O’Neil’s influence, into the kind of marquee capture that changes the shape of their season?