"Buy of the season" - Birmingham City star Christoph Klarer tipped for transfer interest | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has earmarked the Austrian defender as the most likely of City's stars to receive transfer interest this summer.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Birmingham City look destined for promotion out of League One this season, with Chris Davies' squad laden with top quality players at third tier level.

The Blues are beginning to pull away at the top of the league, with their class at both ends of the pitch proving too much for their opposition most weeks.

In particular, City's defence has been watertight so far this season, as heading into their 28th game of the season at home to Cambridge United, Brum have only conceded more than one goal in any individual league match on three occasions this term (Shrewsbury, Peterborough and Wycombe).

Therefore, there will surely be plenty of clubs watching what's been unfolding at St. Andrew's this season with potential transfer swoops in mind for some of Davies' star players.

"He's been outstanding" - Birmingham City told to brace for summer transfer interest in defender Christoph Klarer

We asked our Birmingham City fan pundit, Mike Gibbs, if there was a specific player at the club that he expects to attract the most transfer interest in the summer and why?

Gibbs said: "I think that's a really difficult question because I think there is a long list of players that will have their admirers. You can look across the team.

"I think Christoph Klarer has been outstanding. Still young, definitely can play at a higher level. I think Iwata and Paik in the middle - absolute Rolls-Royce's, and again, can play higher up the pyramid and I think people would be interested in them.

"You've still got people like Jay Stansfield. I can't see him leaving, but, potentially interest there. But I think out of all of them, for me, it probably would be Christoph Klarer.

"He's been outstanding. He's probably been the buy of the season for me. He's got the captain's armband now as well in Bielik's absence, so I think he'll be the most sought after."

Losing Christoph Klarer would be a huge blow to Birmingham City's defence

Signed from German side Darmstadt in the summer in a deal understood to be worth around £2.5m, Klarer has slotted straight into a key starting role in the Birmingham City defence.

The 24-year-old ex-Austrian youth international has looked to be one of a number of City players that are probably playing at a level below what they should be, but Brum supporters certainly aren't complaining about that.

Whether it's in a back four or a three, the big centre-back has provided a towering and physical presence to Birmingham's backline, with few opposition strikers able to win their individual battles with him.

Klarer has also showcased his ability to be a ball-playing defender too, having registered a passing accuracy of 87.1 percent in League One ahead of Birmingham's clash with Cambridge United, which ranks him right among the very best in the division so far this season - per FotMob.

Should City successfully secure promotion to the Championship this season, Davies will want to ensure he keeps together the core foundations of his starting XI in order to not only survive back in the second tier, but due to the evidently ambitious nature of the club at the moment, to perhaps follow in Ipswich Town's footsteps and bounce straight into the Premier League.

Klarer has been integral to their success so far this term, and losing him would absolutely be taking a cornerstone piece out of Davies' team. Therefore, should offers arrive in the summer, Birmingham should do everything in their power to resist cashing in on their superb central defender.