Dynamo Dresden will sign Norwich City defender Marcel Franke on loan until the end of the season when the January transfer window opens.

Franke had been linked with a move to another Bundesliga II side at the weekend, with Union Berlin said to be monitoring the defender's lack of game time in England.

However, national tabloid Bild today reported that Dresden will look to bring their youth product back to his home town as his Canaries move has not yet worked out – and that deal has now been confirmed by City.

The 24-year-old defender has started just seven matches for the Canaries since joining from Bundesliga II side Greuter Furth in a deal reportedly worth up to £2.5million in the summer.

He has made just one brief appearance as a substitute since being dropped after City's awful 4-0 loss at Millwall at the end of August – which prompted the signing of Grant Hanley – and has been playing for the under-23s recently.

Head coach Daniel Farke has suggested his Canaries career may not be over yet though.

'Marcel struggled a bit to adapt to the Championship at the start of the season, and that's why we changed things after the Millwall result,' Farke told City's website.

'He has improved very much in recent weeks in training, but we've played a lot with Timm Klose, Grant Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann in the centre-back positions and they are all in good form and we've been pretty solid, including a club record of consecutive clean sheets.

'We think it would be good for Marcel to be playing games for his confidence, and to get back into his rhythm at a high level and to come back in good shape in June.'

Franke was not involved on Monday night as City's youngsters drew 1-1 away to Brighton though and a January exit looks increasingly likely, with Dresden in mid-table and facing a defensive injury crisis after Sören Gonther injured knee ligaments.

Franke was born in the east German city and made a handful of appearances for his hometown club as a youngster before moving on to third-tier side Hallescher FC in 2013.

The centre-back signed a contract until 2020 when he joined City, with the club having the option of a further year, but hasn't even been named among Daniel Farke's substitutes for the last two matches.

Timm Klose, Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann – who signed a new deal last week – all look to be ahead of Franke and club captain Russell Martin in the central defensive pecking order, with Sean Raggett potentially able to return from his loan at Lincoln in January if needed as well.

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