According to insider Dean Jones, some of the top brass at Newcastle is not convinced of centre-back Fabian Schar despite manager Eddie Howe’s consistent selection of the Swiss defender.
Schar’s future with the Magpies was seemingly over during the tenure of former boss Steve Bruce as the former Deportivo La Coruna player only managed two starts in the first 11 games as Newcastle sat bottom of the table, being the only club with no wins and relegation looking imminent.
Since Howe took over the reins from Bruce in November 2020 and their chart-topping January spending spree of £91.98 million they have managed to drag themselves out of the relegation spots and comfortably sit nine points safe in 15th position, with relegation a thought of the past.
However, despite the turn in form and Schar’s resurgence to the starting team during that time, Newcastle’s hierarchy is not confident he is the right man for the job and does not seem to rate him as highly as their English manager does.
Jones told GiveMeSport, “Eddie Howe really likes Schar. There are some people around the club that aren’t as convinced as Eddie Howe is about that”.
TIF Thoughts on the Fabian Schar situation…
The £6.3 million valued defender’s inclusion into the first team under Howe has certainly improved their form as his newfound partnership with January signing Dan Burn, has seen them keep two clean sheets since the end of the transfer window, the best tally of a partnership for the Magpies this season.
In that time Schar has racked up one goal and two assists from the back while averaging two aerial duel wins, 1.4 interceptions, and 4.1 clearances per game, according to Whoscored.
While Schar has been a step up from former starters Jamaal Lascelles and Federico Fernandez, they will need to improve the backline further due to the expectations of becoming a top team and eventually challenging for the Premier League title. For now, however, it would be worth backing Howe until the end of the season given the team’s recent turn in their form and the disappearance of the relegation threat.