OPINION
After the departure of Rafael Benitez, many Newcastle fans surely didn’t expect to be sat at the end of September having just beaten Tottenham away from home.
When the Spaniard left the club at the end of June, there was a report from Football Insider claiming that many senior Magpies’ players were readying an exodus, and preparing to follow Benitez out of the club.
That in itself led to many reports suggesting that numerous players had attracted interest from in-and-around Europe, with the future looking bleak.
After the departures of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon, Newcastle managed to keep hold of their brightest talents, much to the delight of new manager Steve Bruce.
One player who was linked with a move away was Fabian Schar, with the Swiss international being reported by the Northern Echo to have attracted the interest of AC Milan.
The suggestion that the Italian giants were sniffing around the Swiss international could imply that the Magpies could have been tempted to sell their defender should a bid come in for his services, as teams usually don’t go for unavailable players.
That surely would have been too much to take for Newcastle fans, who would have seen that as one step too far in terms of letting one of their best players leave the club.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Schar put Newcastle fan’s minds at ease on Saturday, as he admitted that they shouldn’t believe everything they read.
“I can’t do anything about newspaper writers in Italy,” he said.
“You hear so many different things. For me, I’m here and I’m happy. My thoughts are on Newcastle, I was already settled last season, to be honest.”
Newcastle and their fans will surely be breathing a sigh of relief as one of their marquee players looks set for an extended spell at St James’ Park after his breakthrough year.
Schar has been in phenomenal form over the past year in the North East and has started the season in similar fashion in the heart of Bruce’s defence.
The 27-year-old has been the standout defender so far this season, averaging both 3.7 tackles and clearances per game according to WhoScored – the most in the entire Newcastle squad.
Should Schar have left to move to the San Siro, it would have left a hole in the defence, with Ciaran Clark not featuring for a single minute in the Premier League, whereas Federico Fernandez has only featured off the bench due to an injury to Jamaal Lascelles.
Newcastle fans will be breathing a sigh of relief though, now that Schar has come out and squashed the potential rumour regarding his future at the club.
