Newcastle United are officially through the January (plus one day of February) transfer window and picked up Joe Willock while losing DeAndre Yedlin. Now, the club will need to turn its focus to the contracts that expire this summer. While there are some obvious decisions to be made, one NUFC defender could be playing for a new deal.
Fabian Schar is among the players with less than six months remaining on their contracts with the Magpies. The Swiss international has experienced some ups and downs during his two and a half seasons with the club.
If you would have told me after the 2018-19 season that it would be uncertain if Newcastle would want to extend Schar, I would have told you that you were crazy. He was the Premier League Newcomer of the Year, according to ESPN, and was an absolute star on the backline and scored nearly a handful of goals.
But, his 2019-20 form was nowhere near the previous season. He battled injuries and at times, he appeared to lack focus. When everyone was healthy at center-back, Schar was no longer a lock in the starting XI.
Now, he’s starting to look more like the 2018-19 version of himself, despite an up and down effort yesterday vs. Palace. He’s been composed on the ball and in the right place at the right time to intercept a pass or clear a ball away from goal. The question will be if his rebound in form will be enough to earn him a new deal from the club.
In my opinion, he deserves a contract extension. He’s been good more often than he’s been bad in his Newcastle United tenure and is only 29 years old. If he’s willing to stay, the Magpies’ brass should offer to keep him around for the next seasons.