"He'd be worth an absolute fortune": Eddie Howe heaps praise on experienced centre-back who cost just £3.5M

Eddie Howe believes his experienced Swiss centre-back Fabian Schär would "be worth an absolute fortune" if he was at the beginning of his career, even though he only cost the club £3.5 million back in 2018.

Schär could be Newcastle's best-ever PL centre-back

Signed from Deportivo La Coruña by Rafa Benítez, Schär enjoyed an excellent start to life on Tyneside in the Spaniard's innovative 3-4-2-1 system, before falling out of favour under the hapless Steve Bruce.

Like many players, the Swiss international has been revived by the takeover and Eddie Howe's appointment, now having 132 Premier League appearances to his name, in which he has scored 10 goals and made six assists.

The 31-year-old celebrated his 150th showing in all competitions for the Magpies by helping the team keep a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Burnley last weekend and followed that up by scoring a stunning fourth goal in the dismantling of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening.

Surely worth another viewing, no?

His PSG goal has finally got him the plaudits he deserves

While many casual observers of the Magpies seem to think Sven Botman is the star man at the back for Howe, the majority of us who watch the team week-in, week-out appreciate that Schär is the lynchpin.

And so he proved against the French champions, despite being moved over to the left side of central defence because of his Dutch colleague's knee injury and Jamaal Lascelles' inclusion.

He was imperious defensively throughout the contest, despite the world-class talent he was faced with, and dug Dan Burn out of a sticky situation on more than one occasion. That's why we dished out a "10/10" for him in our player ratings yesterday morning.

A new contract is now in the offering for our number five

It appears that our head coach and other key people at the club are big fans of Schär, too, thankfully, with a TeamTalk exclusive yesterday reporting that the 31-year-old was set to be offered a new deal imminently.

For his part, it seems the 77-times capped Swiss international is desperate to stay on Tyneside having settled well in the area and been rejuvenated by Howe and his support staff.

With Callum Wilson having recently signed an extension, a new deal for Bruno Guimarães now agreed, and Schär set to stay, it seems the club will turn its attention to ensuring Sean Longstaff and Joelinton are playing at St. James' Park for many years to come. Both midfielders are out of contract in June 2025.