Out-of-contract defender insists Newcastle stay is his ‘priority’
Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar has revealed that he is keen on renewing his contract at the club.
The Switzerland international has been at Newcastle since 2018. He has made 91 appearances for the Premier League side.
Howe has revitalised Newcastle through good old-fashioned coaching
He has been in and out of the Magpies’ starting XI in recent seasons but has been a mainstay in the heart of the defence since Eddie Howe replaced Steve Bruce.
Newcastle were not subtle in their attempts to improve in Schar’s position during the January transfer window.
They made Lille centre-half Sven Botman their top target and also tried to sign Brazilian defender Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
Dan Burn came in from Brighton on deadline day and has worked well next to Schar in recent weeks. The Geordies have won five of their last six in the league.
The Swiss’ contract expires at the end of the season and it is unclear whether or not his club are keen on renewing his deal.
“Everyone at the club knows how comfortable I feel in this team and under this coach,” he told SRF in Switzerland (quotes via Sport Witness).
Schar says he can see himself at St James’ Park next season, noting that staying put is his “priority”.
“I can well imagine staying at Newcastle beyond the summer,” he continued. “It wasn’t always like that; things weren’t always very happy for me under the old owner.
“The next few weeks will show how things will go for me. Newcastle are certainly my priority.”
Meanwhile, Newcastle are among the teams interested in signing Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele this summer, according to Spanish outlet Sport.
Dembele has only played 91 times in La Liga and he is out of contract this summer. Barcelona were keen to offload him in January, but no one met their £18m asking price.
Sport report that Dembele has ‘very succulent’ offers from teams in England and Newcastle are among them.
They add that Barcelona will not be making a new offer to keep Dembele. If he is to stay, he will have to take a pay cut. It is also said that Newcastle are ‘prepared to pay’ more to bring him in.
