Norwich City have confirmed the permanent exit of left-back Philip Heise.
The German, who turns 30 later this month, will be staying with Bundesliga 2 loan club Karlsruher - having only made one appearance for the Canaries.
Signed from Dynamo Dresden for a nominal fee in January 2019 ahead of his contract expiring, City's promotion a few months later meant that Heise's only appearance came during a shock 1-0 loss to League Two side Crawley in the League Cup second round at the start of the next campaign.
He was on the bench for two Premier League games before returning to the German second tier and helping Nuremberg to scrape to survival last year.
This season he was with Karlsruher and mixing it in the top half of Bundesliga 2, eventually slipping away from promotion contention to finish sixth, with a goal and six assists during 30 appearances.
With Norwich returning to the Premier League this season it seemed unlikely that another opportunity in England would follow and Karlsruher sporting director Oliver Kreuzer had revealed last month that a permanent switch was close.
Heise's contract was due to expire in 2022, with his new club confirming it was cancelled early as a mutual agreement, allowing him to sign until 2024 with the Baden-Württemberg club.
Sporting director Kreuzer told his club’s website: "We are very pleased that Philip will stay with us for the long term.
"He is a full-back with a tremendous offensive drive, so he always creates danger in front of the opponent's goal. We also benefit from his strong standards.
“With his quality and experience, he will continue to be an important factor for our game."
Greece international Dimitris Giannoulis is set to remain City's first choice at left-back next season, with Sam Byram and youngster Bali Mumba both able to provide cover at left-back.
It's not clear if another full-back will arrive yet but it's thought Sam McCallum is likely to continue developing with another Championship loan next season.
Much is likely to depend on whether big bids arrive for Max Aarons, as a sale would clearly require at least one full-back addition.
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