Norwich City may have made a mistake by sanctioning summer exit for attacker: View | OneFootball

Christos Tzolis arrived at Carrow Road amid plenty of expectation in August 2021, but the Greek international failed to deliver in his time in yellow and green.

The then-teenager joined from PAOK in his homeland for a reported fee of £8.8 million with extra add-ons to make himself Norwich City's record-signing, but after netting a brace in a 6-0 demolition of AFC Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup the striker failed to register for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign.

But fast forward two years and the frontman is once again in demand by a number of German clubs after a fruitful loan spell at Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2. Bundesliga, leaving the Canaries left ruing what could have been.

Christos Tzolis contract information and transfer rumours

Tzolis was farmed out to the second-tier German outfit after another poor showing in the previous campaign; where a loan spell at Dutch side FC Twente was cut short after three goals in 14 matches, before netting just once for his parent club in the second half of the campaign.

But the Greek star has rediscovered his form at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, having bagged six goals in his first six appearances on the way to netting 13 times in 24 games this season.

That will leave boss Daniel Thioune rubbing his hands with glee ahead of the summer, with the German side already agreeing a permanent transfer for their marksman, which is said to be £5 million should they earn themselves promotion to the Bundesliga this season, or £3.5 million if they don't win promotion, according to Greek outlet Sport24.

Dusseldorf find themselves in seventh spot in their division at the time of writing, some five points off of Holstein Kiel in the second automatic promotion spot, while Hamburg sit a point closer in the only playoff position in the league.

The Bundesliga’s playoffs differ from those in the EFL, with the team finishing in 16th in the Bundesliga and third in 2. Bundesliga facing off in a two-legged affair to determine who will be playing their football in the top tier the next season.

Tzolis attracting interest from Bundesliga sides

Sport24 continue to say that Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach are both said to be interested in the Greek starlet, with both clubs impressed by several eye-catching performances in the German second-tier this season.

And if Dusseldorf are successful with their deal to bring Tzolis to the club in the summer before quickly selling him on, they will be laughing themselves to the bank, with an eight-figure sum not out of the question for such a prestigious talent.

Norwich boss David Wagner commented on the Tzolis situation earlier this season to the Eastern Daily Press: ”First and foremost, we hope he can stay healthy. And secondly to continue performing like he has done as an individual and as the team as well. He and they are in a great position.

"Maybe they can win promotion. Nothing is bigger for a player like this, and then when the season comes to an end, or maybe even after the season, we have to make a discussion about this, but not earlier.

“I’m very happy to see what Christos is doing because you can imagine that I was a little bit involved in the loan to Germany, where I always thought, ‘Okay, this is the right place, this is where I'm quite sure, and confident, that they can accelerate his career again."

For whatever reason it didn’t work out for Tzolis and the Canaries, but the Greek star was never really given the chance to shine in a free-flowing Norwich frontline such as the one they have at their disposal now.

It was always going to be hard to hit the ground running when signing for the relegation-threatened side in the Premier League, while last season’s efforts were below-par from Wagner and his side.

Put him alongside the likes of Jon Rowe, Gabriel Sara, and Josh Sargent that we have seen flourish this season and we could be talking about a 20+ goal Championship striker this season with an even higher price tag.

For someone who the club broke the bank on Norwich will be accused of not giving their record signing the time to shine, and that looks like coming back to haunt them this summer.