Fabian Schar has dropped a fresh hint about his contract status at Newcastle UnitedFabian Schar has dropped a fresh hint about his contract status at Newcastle United
Fabian Schar has dropped a fresh hint about his contract status at Newcastle United | Getty Images
Fabian Schar has dropped a fresh hint over his long-term future at Newcastle United.
The former Swiss international is out of contract at the end of the season and thus could leave the club as a free agent. Having spent seven years on Tyneside, helping to guide them through the years they were threatened with relegation to the Champions League and then a Carabao Cup triumph, seeing Schar leave the club this summer would be a bitter pill to swallow - particularly with him still having a big role to play in Eddie Howe’s first-team.
However, the Magpies head coach revealed on Friday that he expects Schar to extend his stay at the club. “I think Fabi, hopefully, will be signing his contract imminently, if he hasn't already,” Howe said when asked about the defender’s future.
Fabian Schar’s contract ‘hint’
And the defender further all-but confirmed that a new deal with Newcastle United was in the offing in a piece for the matchday programme ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Brentford. In that, Schar was asked all about the club’s Carabao Cup celebrations and what the future holds for his team as they push for European football.
With Conference League football already guaranteed, Schar insisted that he and his teammates were focused on a return to the Champions League, hinting that he expects to still be here next season. “After winning the cup final, nobody was thinking too much about that but it’s nice to know we are going to be playing European football next season,” Schar said.
“The season is still ongoing, though, and we want to push for more than the Conference League given our current position in the table. It’s definitely what we want to achieve so we won’t lie back because we’d rather be playing in the Champions League.”
He continued: “Everyone wants to be in that competition [Champions League] but I think we have to approach it game by game. There are a lot of teams around us in the table so each point is huge. I don’t think we can look too far ahead and we must focus on trying to win each game as they come.”
Newcastle United contract latest
With Schar’s future at St James’ Park seemingly sewn up, the Magpies now have five more contract decisions they need to make this summer. The most pressing of those will be whether to extend the stays of Callum Wilson and Jamaal Lascelles.
Lascelles remains a big part of the club behind the scenes, but an ACL injury has sidelined him for over a year and the defender faces a race against time to be fit before the end of the season. Wilson, meanwhile, has had injury issues of his own and whilst he still has a big role to play as Alexander Isak’s deputy, at 33 the Magpies may feel this summer is the right time to let him leave and sign a younger replacement.
Jamal Lewis is expected to leave as a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the season whilst Mark Gillespie and John Ruddy signed one-year deals last summer.
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