Birmingham City fans react to Blues captaincy change following Krystian Bielik exit | OneFootball

Birmingham City have announced that Christoph Klarer is the new club captain.

Birmingham City have announced that Christoph Klarer will be the club's new captain this season following the departure of Krystian Bielik to West Brom.

Following on from what was an excellent first season at St Andrews, Austrian defender Christoph Klarer will be the Blues' new captain for the 2025/26 season, and perhaps beyond.

The 25-year-old joined the club from Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt last summer after Birmingham suffered relegation from the Championship, and was one of an array of signings that the Blues made, including the likes of Jay Stansfield, Alfie May and Willum Willummson respectively.

Birmingham opened the Championship campaign hosting newly-relegated Ipswich Town, in what was a hotly-contested affair as the Tractor Boys grabbed a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw courtesy of a George Hirst penalty, in which Klarer was involved in an altercation with Conor Chaplin during the celebrations.

Why Christoph Klarer has been chosen as captain by manager Chris Davies

Despite having only been at the club for one full season, Klarer was the standout choice to replace the outgoing Bielik as permanent captain at St Andrews.

The Austrian played 54 games in all competitions last season as Birmingham were crowned as Champions of League One, breaking the EFL points record in the process with 111 points.

Despite Birmingham having the most prolific attack in League One, scoring the most goals in the league last season, it was Klarer who was voted as the club’s Player of the Year in his inaugural season with the Blues.

Birmingham have gone through a complete squad overhaul in the past couple of seasons, with the squad that suffered relegation from the Championship having been torn up and reassembled; only six players from that squad remain, with the majority seemingly not having an important role to play this season.

With no obvious long-serving player at the club, Klarer was the obvious candidate to take the captain's armband, as he will start every game for the club when he is fit to play and leads by example.

Upon being appointed captain, Klarer said: "It’s a huge honour to captain this football club. It’s a very proud moment for myself and everyone that has supported me so far in my career, and I feel very privileged to be given the trust by the manager.

Manager Davis added: "Christoph was the obvious choice as captain. He’s been our on-field captain for much of my time here, and he represents exactly the type of values that I want to see in the team.

"His work ethic, his determination, his commitment and his reliability, all stand up over the test of time."

With the news breaking of the Austrian taking over the captaincy reins from Bielik, Blues have taken to social media to react to the news.

"Never before has there been a more captain like captain. Men straighten up when we walks into a room. Women swoon at the sight of his golden locks. Rumour has it scientists analysed his DNA and found it was 100% captain. This man shall lead us to the promised land," one fan wrote.

"I'm just gonna enjoy every moment we have of him because before we know it, he's gonna have swathes of clubs after him," said another.

"The grass grows greener where Christoph Klarer plays because it’s scared of disappointing him. The last player who nutmegged Christoph Klarer is still missing. When Christoph Klarer heads the ball, NASA has to update the laws of physics," one supporter stated.

"To be honest…. He was the captain of this bunch from the first day he stepped into the club. Proper footballer. Proper defender. Proper bloke. Captain Klarer." said another delighted Blues fan.

It would be fair to suggest that the decision to make Klarer captain of the club has gone down well with Blues supporters, who will be eager to see him in action with the armband on as soon as possible.