Christoph Klarer

Christoph Klarer
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-06-14) 14 June 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Böheimkirchen, Austria[1]
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham City
Number 4
Youth career
–2011 SV Böheimkirchen
2011–2016 Rapid Wien
2016–2020 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Southampton 0 (0)
2020 → St. Pölten (loan) 13 (0)
2020–2023 Fortuna Düsseldorf 74 (5)
2023–2024 Darmstadt 98 30 (2)
2024– Birmingham City 21 (0)
International career
2014–2015 Austria U15 3 (0)
2015–2016 Austria U16 6 (1)
2016–2017 Austria U17 11 (1)
2017 Austria U18 3 (0)
2018 Austria U19 4 (0)
2020–2022 Austria U21 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:15, 11 January 2025 (UTC)

Christoph Klarer (born 14 June 2000) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for English EFL League One club Birmingham City.

Career

Southampton

On 8 July 2016, Southampton confirmed that they had signed Klarer on a professional contract from Rapid Wien.[3] Klarer started for the club's U18 squad. In April 2019, he signed a new contract until the summer 2021.[4]

On 7 January 2020, Klarer joined Austrian club SKN St. Pölten on loan for the 2019–20 season.[5] In February, he made his debut on the match against Admira Wacker Mödling.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 5 October 2020, Klarer moved into German football with Fortuna Düsseldorf, newly relegated from the Bundesliga, on a contract until 30 June 2024.[6]

Darmstadt 98

On 18 July 2023, Klarer signed a four-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga club Darmstadt 98.[7] Darmstadt got relegated again after one season.

Birmingham City

On 20 July 2024, a year after joining Darmstadt 98, Klarer returned to English football on a three-year contract with EFL League One club Birmingham City.[8] He was an unused substitute for the opening match of the league season, and made an "extremely comfortable" debut in the starting eleven for the next fixture, a 1–0 away to Charlton Athletic on 13 August.[9]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton U21 2017–18 — — — — 0 0 0 0
2018–19 — — — — 1[a] 0 1 0
2019–20 — — — — 2[a] 0 2 0
Total — — — — 3 0 3 0
Southampton 2019–20 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
St. Pölten (loan) 2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 13 0 1 0 — — — 14 0
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 13 0 1 0 — — — 14 0
2021–22 2. Bundesliga 31 3 2 0 — — — 33 3
2022–23 2. Bundesliga 30 2 3 0 — — — 33 2
Total 74 5 6 0 — — — 80 5
Darmstadt 2023–24 Bundesliga 30 2 1 0 — — — 31 2
Birmingham City 2024–25[10] League One 21 0 2 0 2 0 — 3[b] 1 28 1
Career total 138 7 10 0 2 0 0 0 6 1 156 8
  1. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ^ "CHRISTOPH KLARER" (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  2. ^ "KLARER Christoph". hagmayr-sport.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  3. ^ We're pleased to announce Christoph Klarer and Aaron O'Driscoll have signed professional contracts with , twitter.com, 8 July 2016
  4. ^ "Klarer extends contract until 2021". southamptonfc.com. Southampton F.C. 9 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Klarer joins SKN St Pölten". southamptonfc.com. Southampton F.C. 7 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Klarer leaves for Fortuna Düsseldorf". southamptonfc.com. Southampton F.C. 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Klarer wird eine Lilie" [Klaler becomes a Lily] (in German). Darmstadt 98. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Birmingham sign defender Klarer for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  9. ^ Dicken, Alex (3 August 2024). "Birmingham City player ratings after Brandon Khela's belter downs Charlton". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Games played by Christoph Klarer in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2025.