Hamburg sign Greece defender Papadopoulos to 2020

Football Soccer - Schalke 04 v Hamburg SV - Bundesliga - Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany - 13/5/17 Hamburg's Kyriakos Papadopoulos celebrates after Hamburg's Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored their first goal Reuters / Leon Kuegeler Livepic

BERLIN (Reuters) - Hamburg SV, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, have signed on-loan Greece international Kyriakos Papadopoulos on a permanent three-year deal from Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday.

The powerful 25-year-old central defender, who joined Hamburg on loan midway through last season, scored twice in 15 league games as he helped them avoid a relegation playoff on the last matchday.