"Will regret it" - Norwich City transfer claim made amid multi-million pound transfer news | OneFootball

FLW's Norwich City fan pundit has weighed in on the situation surrounding Christos Tzolis' future

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Norwich City have been criticised for their handling of the situation surrounding Christos Tzolis’ future.

The 22-year-old spent last season on loan with 2. Bundesliga side Düsseldorf, where he impressed many with his performances.

The Greece international contributed 22 goals and six assists in the German second division, which led to the club exercising their €3.5 (£3) million option to buy clause (all stats from Fbref).

It has since been reported that Düsseldorf have agreed a €6.5 (£5.5) million deal with Belgian giants Club Brugee over a move for the playmaker.

Düsseldorf have been able to make an immediate profit on the player, highlighting that the Canaries have missed out on a potentially greater sale than the one they received.

Norwich criticised for Tzolis transfer situation

FLW’s Norwich fan pundit Zeke Downes believes that the Norfolk outfit have completely mishandled the situation surrounding Tzolis.

He has claimed that it is a situation the club should regret given the money that’s been left on the table as a result of the low option to buy clause negotiated in 2023.

“Unfortunately, most Norwich fans were expecting that to happen because the fee that we put in, that clause that we put in was so low that even if Düsseldorf weren’t promoted they would’ve been stupid not to activate the clause,” Downes told Football League World.

“It’s looking like they’re going to.

“I think €6.5 (£5.5) million could end up being even more later down the line, so I would imagine Norwich will regret it.

“The fans are quite annoyed about it really, it’s the most ridiculous piece of business we’ve ever done, and I don’t know why they put that clause in in the first place.

“It was way too low, and now it’s going to mean that Düsseldorf are going to benefit and profit off him in the space of just a few weeks, and that is stupid.”

Christos Tzolis' Norwich fee

Tzolis signed for Norwich in the summer of 2021 from Greek side PAOK in a deal worth a reported £8.8 million.

He struggled for game time during his time at Carrow Road, making just 27 league appearances, including only six starts.

The 22-year-old was loaned out to FC Twente during the 2022-23 campaign before ending up at Düsseldorf 12 months ago.

The fee agreed as part of the option to buy clause represents a significant loss compared to the deal with PAOK three years ago.

People behind Tzolis blunder are no longer at Norwich

The silver lining from this debacle is that the people who were in charge of negotiating this transfer 12 months ago are no longer at the club.

Ben Knapper is now in charge as the new sporting director at Carrow Road, and it will be his job to make sure a mistake like this is not made again.

Tzolis’ performances in 2. Bundesliga last year increased his value well beyond the £3 million Norwich ultimately received for him.

He even could have ended up as a useful player under Johannes Hoff Thorup too, so this is a really poor mistake for Norwich to have made.