Bundesliga club FC Augsburg are in pole position to sign soon to be out-of-contract Norwich City defender Dimi Giannoulis.

The Greek international is officially a free agent from July 1 after his Carrow Road release, following the club’s Championship play-off failure.

Now Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reported on Tuesday afternoon FC Augsburg – who finished 11th in the German top flight last season – have edged ahead of clubs in England, Italy and Greece.

AEK Athens, along with Panathinaikos had been linked, and Giannoulis acknowledged he has interest from his homeland in a recent interview with Greek media outlet Betarades.

"Yes (there is interest from Greek teams), but that's about it so far, so when we're done here I'll sit down and talk and see which one happens," he said.

"I think I am a good age, and I think I still have a lot to give. So I think it would be better for me to continue abroad, but things don't always turn out the way you want them to.

“I want to play in Spain, I like it there, I want to play in Italy. Maybe Germany, which is a very nice league. I don't know if generally life will be so different from here, maybe not.

"I've talked to people and they know what the reality is, they know what my priorities are."

Giannoulis' close compatriot, and former City club mate Christos Tzolis, had a stunning season on loan in Germany with Bundesliga 2 Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Fortuna activated a buy option for the young attacker earlier this summer, but Tzolis is expected to move again to the Bundesliga following Fortuna's promotion near miss.

Giannoulis made 93 league appearances for Norwich after turning an initial loan from PAOK Salonika into a permanent deal when City secured promotion to the Premier League in 2021.

The attacking left-back, along with Sam McCallum, were among a group of senior players free to leave Carrow Road this summer.

Fellow defender Ben Gibson has already agreed a close season move to Championship rivals Stoke City.