Christoph Klarer arrived at Blues from SV Darmstadt 07 in July 2024 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract, with a year option.

Christoph was born on Wednesday 14 June in Boheimkirchen, a small, picturesque town in Austria with a population of less than 5,000. He first gained his passion for football at six-years-old, influenced by his father who coached locally.

Starting his career at a small local side, SV Boheimkirchen, he was quickly discovered by Austrian giants Rapid Wien not long after he turned 10, and subsequently made the move east to play in their youth setup in Vienna.

Standing out was not too difficult for the imposing centre-back, who was subsequently scouted by Southampton and brought to the South Coast in 2016 to link up with Saints Under-18s. At just 16-years-old, Klarer made his debut against Arsenal Under-18s, facing off against the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith-Rowe and Joe Willock, and went on to captain the Under-18s the following season.

After winning the Premier League 2 with Southampton Under-23s in 2019, the Saints decided it best to see how Klarer fared in senior football and sent him on loan to Austrian Bundesliga side SKN St. Polten for the second-half of the season. There, the defender became indispensable, helping his side avoid relegation with three straight wins to end the campaign.

However, shortly after his return to St. Mary's, Klarer would say goodbye to England and take his talents to Germany, with recently relegated Fortuna Dusseldorf all too happy to pay the Saints a fee for the young star. A 2020/21 campaign in and out of the team was followed by two terms as the Flingeraner's most reliable central defender, and his side just missed out on promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2023.

Klarer, regardless, would be playing top-tier football the next season. SV Darmstadt 07, who had finished as runners-up in the 2. Bundesliga liked what they saw in the defender, and brought him in to play 31 times across the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal last season.

The six-foot-three-inch figure has also represented his country at youth level, having turned out for every age group from Austria Under-15s to Under-21s. Most notably, he faced off against England at the UEFA European Under-21s Championship Qualifying stages in 2020, playing alongside former Blues loanee Emanuel Aiwu.

On Saturday 20 July, Klarer was revealed as Blues' newest signing, joining for an undisclosed fee from SV Darmstadt 07 and penning a three-year contract, with a year option.