Ex-Norwich City Defender Courting European Interest
Bundesliga side Augsburg and Greek outfits AEK Athens, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos are said to be keen on Giannoulis after he left Carrow Road at the expiry of his contract last month. The player is said to be ‘open’ to a move to Germany with Augsburg, who finished 11th in the Bundesliga last year, but the three Greek sides are looking to hijack the deal and lure Giannoulis back to his homeland.
The 28-year-old exits the club after they chose not to renew his contract after a season where Norwich finished 6th in the Championship, losing out to Leeds United in the play-off semi-final.
Giannoulis, who has 27 caps for his country at senior level, joined Norwich in 2021 after a successful loan the previous season, and went on to play 103 times for the club across the top two divisions. Prior to his move to England, the left-back had spent his entire career in Greece except for a short loan spell at Anorthosis in Cyprus. He came through at Vataniakos in the Greek second division and went on loan several times, before a move to the top-flight with PAOK where he spent five years, again with several stints away from the club before his big move
Norwich City: Christos Tzolis on Canaries and Club Brugge
The 22-year-old could face his old club again next week, after a hectic early summer transfer window, with the Canaries taking on the Champions League hopefuls next Wednesday in a friendly.
Tzolis initially completed a permanent €3.5m switch to Bundesliga 2 club Fortuna Dusseldorf, where he plundered 24 goals and provided 10 assists in 37 appearances, in a loan spell which included a buy option for the Germans.
But Club Brugge then triggered another buy option under the terms of the original deal, in a move reported to be in the region of €6.5m, with Norwich due another 10pc of that transfer fee.
City originally outbid Brugge to sign the Greek back in 2021, ahead of their Premier League tilt, with a hefty £9m package, but Tzolis’ Carrow Road career never got going in England
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