Southampton will always regret £340k sale of Birmingham City star | OneFootball

Christoph Klarer spent four years in the Southampton academy before being sold to Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2020

Christoph Klarer was named as the captain of Birmingham City this season after playing a starring role in the Blues' record-breaking season in League One last campaign, much to the dismay of Southampton.

Having spent time in the youth systems of amateur side SV Böheimkirchen and Austrian giants Rapid Wien, Christoph Klarer made the move to the English South Coast with Southampton in July 2016.

The centre-back would feature heavily for the Saints' Under-18 and Under-21 sides during his time at St Mary's, but would return to his native Austria in January 2020 with St. Polten on loan, where he would play 13 times in the Austrian top flight.

Upon his return to England, Klarer had still not done enough to impress compatriot head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl to earn a place in the Southampton first team, and would leave the club on a permanent basis in the summer of 2020 without ever making a first-team appearance, heading for Germany.

Following his departure from Southampton, Klarer later said: "I think I would have had one or two chances (at Southampton). However, half a year in St. Polten showed me how cool adult football is.

"It was important for my development to continue playing there. At Southampton, there would have been a big risk of me playing the whole year in the U23S again.

"I just didn’t want to risk that at the time because it wouldn’t have been good for my development."

Southampton sold Christoph Klarer for just £340k to Fortuna Düsseldorf

Klarer joined newly-relegated second division side Fortuna Düsseldorf for just €400k (£340k), having been unable to displace the likes of Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard, Mohammed Salisu, or Jack Stephens in the Saints backline.

His first season in Germany was a relatively quiet one, making just 13 appearances for Düsseldorf in the second tier, but the following campaign, he would assert himself as a key figure in the club's back line, making 31 league appearances during the 2021/22 season.

The towering Austrian would follow that up with 30 appearances in the second tier the following campaign, and would earn a move to newly-promoted Darmstadt at the end of the season.

Klarer made 30 appearances in his one and only Bundesliga season to date as Darmstadt were relegated, scoring two and grabbing two assists from centre-back, attracting the interest once again, and for the second time in his career, he would make the switch to England, this time with Birmingham City, then in League One.

Under Chris Davies, the Blues paid around €3 million (£2.5 million) for Klarer, with former club Düsseldorf receiving 10% of the fee due to a clause in their deal with Darmstadt, equating to about €300k.

It would be fair to suggest that this now looks like a bargain.

Southampton must regret the sale of Christoph Klarer following the Austrian's success with Birmingham City

Klarer played a pivotal role in Birmingham's record-breaking EFL points haul in League One last season, making 43 league appearances across the campaign, with the Blues conceding just 31 goals across the entire season and accumulating an astonishing 111 points.

The Austrian primarily played alongside former Preston and Liverpool defender Ben Davies in the heart of defence, forming a strong partnership with the Englishman.

Ahead of this season, Klarer was named as club captain upon the departure of Krystian Bielik to division rivals West Brom, having captained the side on occasion the prior season.

The former Austrian youth international has been undroppable this season for Davies and Birmingham, playing and starting all 17 of their Championship fixtures so far, pairing with the likes of Phil Neumann, Jack Robinson, and Eiran Cashin; Klarer has been a mainstay.

At 25, Klarer signed a new deal with the Blues earlier this month, extending his stay at St Andrew's until at least the summer of 2029, much to the delight of Birmingham supporters.

Having become a key figure for Birmingham, Southampton must regret selling Klarer when they did, and will be watching on his success with envy whilst they themselves have struggled this season, despite their recent run of good form and stellar options in defence.

£340k was an incredibly low sale for someone of Klarer's ability, and some Birmingham fans may argue that he is now worth 100x that amount.