Ipswich Town have completed the double signing of Julio Enciso (£5.5m) and Abdoul Ouattara (£4.0m) from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Both players have penned five-year contracts with the Tractor Boys, reuniting them with manager Gary O’Neil, who was at the French side’s helm for the back half of 2025/26.
The reported combined fee for the pair has the potential to reach £47.3m, with the portion of that exchanged for attacking midfielder Enciso – who returns to Portman Road after a previous loan spell – rumoured to be a club record sum.
But what are their FPL prospects, and do they pose a threat to the gametime of any existing Ipswich players
WHO IS ENCISO?
Enciso’s is a name that should already be familiar to some seasoned FPL managers, with the Paraguay international having appeared in each of the three Premier League campaigns – albeit never as a regular starter – prior to last season’s stint with Strasbourg.
Two of those campaigns (2022/23 and 2023/24) were with Brighton, bringing a respectable four goals – including one Goal of the Season winner and Puskas Award finalist! – and five assists combined from only 12 starts.
Enciso’s previous time in an Ipswich top – during the second half of 2024/25 – led to a more modest two goals and three assists from 13 appearances. He scored another stunner then, too.
Last season in Strasbourg, the 22-year-old’s numbers picked up again: 12 goals and nine assists from 42 appearances in all competitions for a side that placed eighth in Ligue 1 but reached the last four of both the Conference League and Coupe de France.
He finished his domestic season particularly strongly under O’Neil with 1 goal and four assists in his final three league matches before going on to score Paraguay’s opener in their World Cup knockout win over Germany,.
Overall in his career to date it’s 40 goals and 26 assists in 182 senior club appearances for Enciso, who reportedly narrowly eclipses new teammate Emersonn (£5.5m) to become Ipswich’s all-time record signing.
WHO IS OUATTARA?
Versatile 20-year-old Ouattara, meanwhile, played 45 times across two Ligue 1 seasons for Strasbourg, with 28 of those (and 43 total appearances in all competitions) during 2025/26.
The Ivorian scored four goals and provided an assist last season, hitting the target twice in 10 appearances en route to the Conference League semi-finals.
A notable quality of Ouattara’s career to date has been his positional flexibility. Categorised as an FPL defender, he has proven himself capable of playing both full-back positions, on both sides of midfield and in the centre of the pitch.
Indeed, upon Ouattara’s unveiling as an Ipswich player this week, O’Neil said: “Abdoul is a talented young player who can play in different positions, so is a very good addition to our squad.
WHOSE POSITION DO THEY THREATEN?
Starting with Enciso, the new attacking arrival could spell the most trouble for cheap enabler Sindre Walle Egeli (£4.5m), a bargain bucket forward signed for £17.5m last season who caught the eye in pre-season by registering three assists as a starting No10 and right winger during Ipswich’s final two outings.
Walle Egeli’s positional versatility suggests he could move out wide if Enciso – who played no part in Ipswich’s pre-season and was set to link up with the Town squad “in due course” per his transfer announcement earlier this week – is deemed ready to start in Gameweek 1.
Even then, £20m winger Abdul Fatawu (£5.5m) will likely start on the right himself if he has recovered from a “knock” that kept him out of Ipswich’s last pre-season match.
All eyes and ears on O’Neil’s pre-match presser, then, in case there is a chance of a Gameweek 1 start for Walle Egeli should Enciso and/or Fatawu be ruled not quite ready.
Past that, we’d certainly expect Walle Egeli to get some minutes this season – provided the young Norwegian doesn’t leave on loan – but future starts may now be few and far between.
Otherwise, Enciso did make some appearances up front at past clubs, but Ipswich now have Emersonn for that as well as George Hirst (£5.0m), Chuba Akpom (£5.0m) and indeed Walle Egeli. He is also capable of playing out wide, but O’Neil already has the likes of Fatawu, fellow newcomer Daezen Maeda (£5.5m), Jaden Philogene (£5.5m) and Jack Clarke (£5.5m) to choose between.
So, it’s likely to be a No10 role for the Paraguayan.
Ouattara, meanwhile, could pose some level of threat to the minutes of any number of players, depending on how O’Neil plans to use him.
For instance, he may serve as cover to Leif Davis (£4.0m) at left-back – where he started the last four Ligue 1 games under O’Neil at Strasbourg; though usurping Davis entirely here is unlikely – as well competing for a right-back slot – where he scored from in the Conference League quarter-finals – that has been filled most often in pre-season by club captain centre-back Dara O’Shea (£4.0m).
Ouattara also earned a handful of appearances as both a left- and right-sided midfielder last season – though none of those came after O’Neil took charge in January – as well as in central midfield, where he lined up for both legs of Strasbourg’s Conference League semi-final.
ANY FPL POTENTIAL?
In any case, it should probably be a ‘wait and see’ scenario when it comes to Ouattara, who is unlikely to be thrown straight into the fray from Gameweek 1.
Should he emerge as a regular starter anywhere on the pitch – right-back may be the most likely place, possibly at the expense of Jacob Greaves (£4.0m) with O’Shea returning to central defence, unless O’Neil switches to a back five – then we’ll revisit the matter, especially if he becomes an ‘out-of-position’ pick by playing in midfield.
For now, though, Ouattara’s place is far from certain, while 4.2 defensive contributions per 90 is nothing to write home about.
As for Enciso, there’s definitely some FPL appeal as a relatively budget-friendly midfielder.
Again, though, and even if he is much more likely to become a regular starter this season than Ouattara, the lack of pre-season means a Gameweek 1 debut as anything other than a cameo would be a surprise unless we hear otherwise from O’Neil’s press conference.
Then there are a few trickier-looking matches, but a more promising run around October/November could be the time to hop on the Enciso train if he gets up to speed quickly.
