OPINION
Given the way that Mike Ashley has conducted transfer business during his time as owner of Newcastle United, managers at the club have not been blessed with the luxury of vast sums of money or any real strength in depth when it has come to building their squads.
And that has largely forced those in charge of recruitment to think outside of the box with some of their acquisitions.
Sure, this past year has seen Ashley break the club’s transfer record twice, signing Miguel Almiron and then Joelinton, but two sudden splurges can’t paper over all of the cracks that his tenure has opened up.
And that means that most transfer dealings in recent times have been done on the relative cheap.
Now, clearly, when cheap business goes wrong it can go very wrong, but equally, when it goes right, it can be terrific. That is something that the Magpies will be sure of now more than ever thanks to the recent form of Fabian Schar.
The Swiss international arrived from Deportivo La Coruna for £3.6 million back in July 2018, and since then has consistently been one of the Toon Army’s best players.
So far this season, he has averaged 2.6 tackles, 2.8 interceptions, and four clearances per game in the Premier League, as per Whoscored, and has even found the back of the net on one occasion.
As such, it is incredibly important that the club can convince him to stay beyond the end of his current contract in 2021.
And according to Chronicle journalist Ciaran Kelly, an extension is in the works.
Writing in a piece for the local outlet, the reporter named Schar as one of several players who are being lined up for new deals.
He said: “Martin Dubravka is close to signing a new deal and managing director Lee Charnley has been in discussions with the representatives of the nucleus of the squad about extending their contracts, with Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden and Fabian Schar’s contracts all up in 2021.”
Getting the 27-year-old to put pen to paper must be one of the club’s top priorities, and the sooner that they can tie him down, the better for everybody.
Here’s hoping a deal is close.
