Birmingham City will hope for Christoph Klarer 2.0 after new transfer development | OneFootball

Birmingham City will hope Phil Neumann signing can emulate Christoph Klarer Blues success

Birmingham City sit top of the League One table, having played exactly half of their third tier games this campaign, and have so far matched expectations that they would dominate the division.

Saturday's 3-0 win at Wigan Athletic means that Blues have now gone nine league games unbeaten, a run in which they have accumulated seven wins.

The club's wealthy American owners, Knighthead Capital Management Group, flexed their financial muscles during the summer transfer window, and brought several high-profile additions to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, such as former Fulham forward Jay Stansfield for an eyebrow-raising League One record-breaking fee of £15m.

Another notable signing the West Midlands club completed last summer was the addition of centre-back Christoph Klarer, who joined Chris Davies' men in a deal worth around £3.5m.

Blues will hope January deal can replicate Klarer success

Since joining the League One leaders from German outfit Darmstadt, the 24-year-old has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the third tier, which is no surprise given the fact that he made 30 Bundesliga appearances for his former club last season.

So far this term, Klarer has been present for Blues in all but two of their third tier outings, and even notched a 91st minute assist when his side defeated Wigan 2-1 back in August.

Several League One attackers have struggled to get the better of the ex-Darmstadt man, who has won 141 duels and 88 aerial duels in the third tier this campaign, as per FotMob.

But while the Austrian has been exceptional for Davies' men, Blues still appear intent on adding yet more exciting defenders to their ranks during the current January transfer window.

The Mirror's Neil Moxley revealed via X on Monday morning that the club's swoop for Hannover 96 star Phil Neumann was set to be a done deal.

Blues will hope that Neumann can emulate the success enjoyed by Klarer this season, while the latter has displayed promising signs that German clubs are a good source of defensive talent for Davies and co.

Neumann could have what it takes to further bolster Blues defence

No League One side have conceded fewer goals than Birmingham, who have let in just 17 goals in 23 third tier fixtures, although it must be noted that fellow automatic promotion hopefuls Wrexham have conceded 18 in 25 league outings, so arguably boast the best defence.

But either way, the defensive record on display by Blues has been remarkable so far, but worryingly for their League One rivals, Davies' backline could be set to become even better.

There is nothing to suggest that Neumann won't be every bit as good as Klarer for the West Midlands side, as the 27-year-old has featured in 16 of Hannover's Bundesliga 2 outings this season.

Like Blues, Hannover have conceded the fewest goals in their league, letting in just 17 goals in as many games, while Andre Breitenreiter's men sit a mere two points below the automatic promotion spots during the winter break.

Neumann has been pivotal to those impressive efforts, and has won 78 duels this season as per FotMob, and has also been reasonably strong in possession, having completed 649 successful passes.

Any Blues fans hoping that their club's latest potential signing could be every bit as good as current star defender Klarer, may well see their wish come true.