German club set to seal transfer agreement for Norwich City forward

Christos Tzolis is going back out on loan again from the Canaries, with Fortuna Dusseldorf set to take a chance on the Greek winger

On the eve of the 2023-24 Championship season, Norwich City could be saying goodbye to one of their first-team players.

It is not one of the individuals that is expected to potentially land the club a significant windfall though this summer like Max Aarons or Andrew Omobamidele, who still remain at Carrow Road with less than a month to go until it is decided whether or not they will be a part of David Wagner’s squad for at least the first half of the campaign.

Instead, it looks set to be Christos Tzolis who will be heading out of the exit door at the Norfolk outfit, with the Pink’Un reporting that a deal to send the Greek winger to Fortuna Dusseldorf on a loan deal for the upcoming campaign is close.

And Dusseldorf, who finished fourth in the 2. Bundesliga – the second tier of German football – last season, are likely going to have the option to buy the 21-year-old next summer for a fixed fee, with his time at City not exactly working out as planned.

Following a 2020-21 season where he scored 16 goals in all competitions for PAOK Salonika, which included goals in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, Tzolis made the move to England with Norwich.

How has Christos Tzolis fared for Norwich?

19 years of age at the time, Tzolis signed for a fee of £8.8 million, which with add-ons that could have been met could potentially rise to a figure of £10 million – per The Athletic.

Tzolis struggled to acclimatize to English football though and rarely got first-team chances at Norwich in his debut year, playing 14 times in the Premier League but a lot of thosre appearances came off the substitutes bench.

Dean Smith rarely utilised Tzolis when he was appointed to replace Daniel Farke in the dugout at Carrow Road and by the time preparations came about for Norwich’s 2022-23 Championship campaign, the decision was made to loan the Greek youngster out to FC Twente of the Netherlands.

Tzolis played 15 times for Twente, scoring three goals, but missed a number of weeks with a knee ligament injury and after he recovered, he only played twice as a substitute in January before heading back to Norwich as he was recalled by new head coach David Wagner.

Wagner gave Tzolis more chances in the second half of last season, playing 13 times in the Championship and scoring once, but again the majority of his outings came off the bench.

He will now get a chance to express himself for Dusseldorf, who will once again be aiming for promotion back to the Bundesliga next season.

What next for Norwich?

In terms of wide options for Norwich, Wagner is well covered right now with the likes of Onel Hernandez, new signing Borja Sainz as well as youngster Tony Springett, with Josh Sargent also able to play out wide if Ashley Barnes is being utilised through the middle of the pitch.

There could be scope to add another winger though following Tzolis’ expected exit, with four weeks still to complete deals before the transfer window slams shut.

It’s unclear though as to how much money Wagner has to spend on his squad, with the sale of potentially Aarons or Omobamidele the only way he will be able to add a new attacker for millions.