French midfielder Melvin Sitti has earned a new opportunity following his summer release from Norwich City.

The 21-year-old came to a mutual agreement to end his contract in August after just one season with the Canaries, having initially signed a four-and-a-half-year deal.

After a recent trial spell with FC Annecy, Sitti has joined the club on an 18-month contract and joins a squad currently third in Championnat National, the third tier of French football.

Signed in January 2020 after featuring regularly for Sochaux in the French second tier as a teenager, he was described as a “very exciting player” by former City head coach Daniel Farke, having been capped at under-20 level by France.

He finished the season with Sochaux and after training with City’s U23s in the summer, came on in the 86th minute as an understrength first team lost 3-1 at Luton in the League Cup first round, due to a clash with international fixtures.

A loan switch to Belgian top-flight side Waasland-Beveren followed swiftly but after initially featuring in friendly games, injuries wrecked that stint and he didn’t make a competitive appearance.

Reflecting on his lessons learned, Sitti said: “It has already taught me that you have to work hard to achieve your goals. We have to give ourselves the means and wait for our talent to make the difference, or it will not work.

“It takes a lot of humility and a lot of mental strength to be successful. Work always pays off, it's not just a proverb.”

The Paris-born youngster returned to Norwich in January and made seven starts for the U23s in Premier League Two but left following the club’s return to the Premier League.

Talking to his new club’s website, Sitti described his game, adding: “In my opinion, my first qualities are my technique and my passes. I hope to be an attacking player who brings as much as possible to his team.

“My favourite quality would be my vision of the game because I try to see what the defenders cannot see to create a gap."

Annecy is in the east of France, close to the Alps and the borders with Switzerland and Italy. Sitti’s new team currently sit third and two points from top spot and return from their winter break with a home game on Friday against fourth-placed Bourg.

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