Christoph Klarer makes Birmingham City future hint after defiant Wrexham display

Birmingham City defenders put blood, sweat and tears on the line to hold on for a valuable point at the Racecourse Ground on Thursday night.

A long-range stunner from Ollie Rathbone broke the deadlock for Wrexham in the 10th minute before Lyndon Dykes’ deflected header levelled up the scoring shortly after, but most of the action came in the goalless second half.

Wrexham threw the kitchen sink at Blues in an effort to source a winner late on but they somehow drew a blank in front of a 13,237-strong Racecourse crowd. Heroic defending from Birmingham’s back four and superb goalkeeping from Ryan Allsop denied the likes of Ollie Palmer, Steven Fletcher, James McClean and Paul Mullin in the final half an hour.

It was undoubtedly a resilient team effort that crawled Birmingham over the line but one man stood out above all else. Christoph Klarer, take a bow son.

Blues’ Austrian defender was in outstanding form under the lights as he won four tackles, made 13 clearances and notably won seven of his eight aerial duels against Wrexham’s towering and boisterous forward players.

Fellow defensive starters Ben Davies, Alex Cochrane and Ethan Laird stood up well to the Red Dragons too but Klarer was on another level. So brave to throw his body and head on the line to keep Birmingham on par, it looked as if the 24-year-old would head a brick if necessary.

When asked by Birmingham World if he’d do just that, Klarer replied without hesitation: “I would if I had to for this club! It’s because I care a lot for the team and for the club.”

Christoph Klarer makes Birmingham City future hint

Having already admitted his willingness to head a brick, Klarer then made a hint about his Birmingham future, dedicating himself to the project as Blues seek to gain promotion up the divisions.

“From day one I’ve really felt welcome, I’ve wanted to be part of the product and I want to give as much value to the team as I can. I’ve been brought in to do that side of the game as well,” Klarer added.

“But it’s not just me, it’s the whole team, the whole back four, it’s Jukey (Lukas Jutkiewicz) who comes on and heads a full balls away. The whole team deserves big praise in that aspect of the game today,” he said.

Signed on until June 2027 following his £3 million transfer from Darmstadt, Klarer could well put pen to paper on a new contract before long. It may have to wait until the end of the season to ensure Birmingham are definitely promoted but it’s an inevitability it will happen at some stage.