Christos Tzolis has closed the chapter on his unhappy stint at Norwich City, and in England, as he looks to continue his revival with Belgian champions 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.

The former PAOK prospect made just 30 appearances, scoring on three occasions, and endured an injury-hit loan move to FC Twente.

“It was very close I went to Club, but PAOK then received a higher bid from Norwich and the decision was actually no longer in my hands,” he said. “Not a problem, because the Premier League is one of the best competitions in the world.

"I didn't pay much attention to my transfer fee at the time. I just wanted to play, get minutes and enjoy the game. That didn't happen at Norwich in the end. After seven games, Daniel Farke, the coach who wanted me, was sacked. Dean Smith came in and had a completely different structure in mind. A choice I had to respect, but it was the most difficult year of my career.

“The first time (I didn’t make the squad and had to play with the development team) I was very disappointed. That was the low point. My agent and family had to talk me into it. But life off the pitch wasn’t easy either.

"A 19-year-old who went to live alone for the first time in a city where there wasn’t much to do - it wasn’t fun. Going for a coffee? Everything closed at seven o’clock in the evening. Fortunately, there was a Greek (Dimi Giannoulis) playing there at the time, with whom I had good contact, and that helped me.”

Tzolis, interviewed by Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad, believes he is stronger for his early career setbacks.

"It was a good lesson. I've now seen the other side of the coin,” he said. “I also suffered at FC Twente, where I suffered a serious knee injury and had to rehabilitate for months.

"From a young age I had only seen the good side of football - top talent at PAOK, always playing, scoring a lot of goals - everything was positive. I learned that football can also be ugly.”