Christoph Zimmermann is relishing getting stuck into the thick of Championship battle for Norwich City, simply stating: “Defending is my passion.”

The tall centre-back has signed on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund II, following head coach Daniel Farke to Norfolk, having captained the German’s team last season – when they had the best defensive record in their league.

Zimmermann, 24 and 6ft 4ins tall, feels his style will suit English football.

“Of course with my physical constitution I like the in-fights, I like winning headers,” the new Canaries defender said. “And, first of all, as a defender I like to defend and I like it if we don’t concede any goals – that’s always the biggest aim for a defender.

“Defending is my passion: sliding tackles on wet grass, headers, all of that sort of stuff which we would call man’s football – that’s what I like.”

Dortmund conceded just 25 goals in 34 games in Regionalliga West, in the fourth tier of German football, and Zimmermann is pleased to be joining Farke and his assistant Eddie Riemer in England.

“I’m extremely delighted and very honoured for the opportunity,” he continued. “First of all, the connection is obvious because I worked together with the head coach Daniel Farke in Dortmund, and I had extremely good experiences with him.

“And Norwich City has some history in the Premier League and is a well-known club, and also the city seems really interesting and looks good.

“All of that together made it definitely the best option for me to take this summer after my contract with Dortmund ran out. That left me free to do whatever I wanted to do, and that was a good position for me, and so I chose Norwich.”