After Norwich City completed the application for the work permit of Greek left-back Dimitris Giannoulis, the 25-year-old sat down with canaries.co.uk for his first club interview.
“I’m really happy to be here,” he said. “It was a dream to play for an English team and now it’s true I will give my best.
“It’s been a busy few days but I’m here and I can’t wait to get on the pitch with my teammates.
“I’m a fast player and I like to attack and I’m fast in defence as well. I like this style of football and I hope I adapt to the way we play and that the team gets promoted.
Giannoulis went on to tell us about his journey in professional football so far, which has been spent fully in Greece.
“I played in lower divisions in Greece for some teams, then PAOK bought me and I went on loans for five years. I then came back to PAOK and played there for the last few years and now I’m here.
“I felt nice [to hear Norwich were interested]. I didn’t have to think a lot about it. I decided to come and I’m happy that I’m here.”
The potential of Premier League football was a key factor in Giannoulis’ decision to move to Norwich, and it’s a goal he’s got his sights firmly set on already.
“I know it’s a big club and I know the people here are very professional,” he added. “I saw some videos of the training centre and stuff and I felt like I had to come here.
“[The Premier League] is the biggest reason. I’ve come here to help the team get promoted and play in the Premier League. This is my dream and this will happen.”
While Giannoulis will be meeting a huge number of new people in Norwich, there will be one or two familiar faces at Lotus Training Centre already.
“I know some players, but not personally, like Teemu Pukki - who we played against in the Nations League - and Todd Cantwell and Emi Buendia,” he said.
“Pukki was the most dangerous player for Finland so we kept an eye on him! He’s a top player and it will be nice to play with him.
“I’m really happy, I can’t wait to get on the pitch and play football to help the team get promoted.”
