Fortuna Düsseldorf defender Christoph Klarer has admitted he had to leave Southampton in 2020 to avoid spending more time playing in their B side.
Klarer departed St Mary’s for €400,000 in October 2020 after spending four years with them following a move from AKA Rapid U16 in July 2016.
He worked his way up the various youth ranks at Southampton over those four years, featuring for the U18s and U23’s before a loan move to SKN St. Polten in 2020.
After that he elected to leave on a permanent basis, departing for Düsseldorf two years ago in search of regular football at a more senior level.
He’s certainly achieved that, making 70 appearances in all competitions for the club since his arrival and establishing himself as a regular in their defence.
That is a far cry from what would have been on offer at Southampton, where he failed to make a senior appearance for the club despite 41 games for the U21s and 35 for the B team.
“I have to say one thing clearly: I felt very, very comfortable at Rapid back then,” he told Laola1.
“I have a special connection to this club because my family and my environment are very close to Rapid. But as a 16-year-old it’s hard to say no when Southampton FC approach you, present you with a plan and say: ‘We’d like to have you’.
“I think I would have had one or two chances (at Southampton). However, half a year in St. Pölten showed me how cool adult football is.
“It was important for my development to continue playing there. At Southampton, there would have been a big risk of me playing the whole year in the U23s again.
“I just didn’t want to risk that at the time because it wouldn’t have been good for my development.”
