Christos Tzolis is set for a loan to buy to move to Club Brugge from Norwich City this summer, according to The Athletic.

The 13-time Greece international arrived from PAOK last summer, but struggled to adapt to Premier League level, along with the vast majority of the Canaries' squad, as they finished rock bottom under Dean Smith.

Tzolis did chip in with four goal contributions in two appearances in the Carabao Cup, but still only managed three league starts across the course of the season.

The Athletic revealed that Club Brugge is the most likely next move for Tzolis, enabling Norwich to cut their losses on the fee they paid to bring him to Carrow Road.

The article stated: "The most likely move for Tzolis is a loan to Club Brugge, who saw an £8.6 million (€10 million) bid for Tzolis in January 2021 turned down by PAOK before Norwich secured his signature last summer.

"Talks over a loan deal with an option to buy have been discussed for about a month.

"That option would see Norwich recoup their initial outlay, although PAOK’s sell-on clause would become redundant as the percentage only applies to profits Norwich make on their initial outlay."

It was probably a little clumsy to hand a five-year contract out to a player as unproven to Tzolis last summer, but the move to Belgium would satisfy both parties and free up some wages for Norwich to strengthen their squad further ahead of 2022/23.

The Verdict

 

 

It is no slight on Tzolis' ability and potential that he was unable to hit the ground running for the Canaries.

Norwich scored just 23 goals and won only five games in the entire league campaign, a horrible environment and defeatist atmosphere for a youthful new signing, from abroad, to step into.

Dean Smith has a plethora of attacking options at his disposal heading into next term, with the likes of Jordan Hugill and Onel Hernandez returning from loan spells in the Championship to bolster their promotion bid.

Norwich have won the second tier title in their last two seasons at the level, but without Daniel Farke and Emiliano Buendia at the club now, 2022/23 appears to be more challenging.