OPINION
Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark must be sweating profusely over his future at St James Park after his teammate Fabian Schar made jaws drop with his display against Watford.
Clark played no part in the Magpies’ 1-0 win over the Hornets as despite recovering from a thigh injury he was deemed unavailable to play any part in the clash due to illness (Source: Watford Observer).
Yet it didn’t really matter that the 6ft 2in tall centre-back (Source: Transfermarkt) was unavailable even when Rafa Benitez had to deal with Jamaal Lascelles getting injured during the match as Schar saved the day.
The 26-year-old replaced the Magpies’ captain during his side’s latest outing and wowed for all the right reasons.
Schar was a reason why the Magpies were able to turn the game in their favour and record a win as his passing as well as his tackling was spot-on.
Ahead of the clash with the Hornets the summer recruit had hardly been used by Benitez and even seem to be behind Clark in the pecking order.
Yet given his display on Saturday, that is probably no longer the case.
Clark is hardly seen as a first-team regular but he has managed to make six appearances in the league this season, the only issue is he has hardly excelled in those outings.
Given Schar’s latest display in comparison than Clark’s opportunities to feature will all but dry up, unless more bad lucky with injury strikes, and this should see him sweating over his future at St James Park.
The experienced centre-back’s position at the Magpies hasn’t been secure for a while as the Chronicle reported in June that the defender was looking to make a positive impression in pre-season with Benitez considering who to sell.
This implied that Clark was perhaps a player near the chopping block, and given Schar’s latest outing then he may have inadvertently pushed him teammate back towards the exit door.
Therefore this all means that Clark should not get too comfortable at St James Park as Schar looked a level above him, which could see the defender’s time at the club come to an end in the near future.
