Norwich City confirm permanent departure of defender to European second-tier club | OneFootball

Centre back Christoph Zimmermann has left Norwich City on a permanent deal, the Championship club have confirmed.

Zimmermann joined Norwich from Borussia Dortmund’s second-team back in the summer of 2017, and went on to make 139 appearances in all competitions for the Canaries.

The defender twice helped the club to promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, although they suffered relegation after just a single season on both occasions.

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Now, with just a year remaining on his contract at Carrow Road, and after falling down the pecking order last season, the 29-year-old has headed for pastures new.

It has been announced that Zimmermann has now completed a permanent move to SV Darmstadt, who last season finished fourth in the German second-tier, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga.

Having completed that move, the centre back has put pen to paper on a three-year contract with Darmstadt, securing his future back in his native Germany until the end of the 2024/25 season.

The Verdict

This does look like it could be a sensible move for Norwich to make in letting Zimmermann go.

Given he was in the final year of his contract, and the fact that he struggled for opportunities last season, it may have been in the best interests of the player to let him go, and maxmise his game time elsewhere.

What this does mean however, is that the pressure may be on Norwich to recruit another centre back, with only the relatively inexperienced Andrew Omobamidele backing up Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson in that position.

There is of course still time in the window for them to do that, but with little more than a week until the season starts, you wonder whether that is something they may still want to get done quickly.