Blues move was a risk... but it's been a winner for Klarer

CHRISTOPH Klarer could have been forgiven for having doubts when Birmingham City came calling in the summer of 2024.

- By ALEX DICKEN

The Austrian defender had just completed his maiden Bundesliga season - albeit one that ended in relegation for Darmstadt 98 - and plying his trade in the third tier wasn’t part of his script.

But the Blues ‘project; which by now everyone has learned is an ascent to the Premier League to play in a superduper new stadium which was showcased this week, attracted Klarer’s attention.

“Initially, when you are playing in the Bundesliga and you get a call from League One, that’s not what you're looking for,’ admits Klarer.

“But as we saw - and happily it turned out that way - we were going on a mission that wasn’t going to end in League One. This club was never a League One club in terms of the players that we had and the manager that we had last year, and the fanbase behind it.

“There have been clubs that have been relegated and invested into squads before and it hasn’t been successful, so I definitely took a risk and I’m happy that it paid off.