Newcastle United looking to strike deal with 'elite' player as Paul Mitchell enters talks

Schar’s current contract is set to expire in the summer and talks are ongoing regarding a new deal for the Swiss defender. The 33-year-old is one of Newcastle’s current longest-serving players with his 215 appearances over the last seven seasons bettered only by club captain Jamaal Lascelles (251), who is also out of contract at the end of the season.

But while Lascelles has been injured for the last 11 months, Schar has continued to play a key role in Eddie Howe’s side.

And with the risk of losing Schar on a free transfer in the summer, Newcastle are keen to tie the defender down to a new deal sooner rather than later.

When asked if Newcastle would have normally provided an update on Schar’s contract situation had a deal been agreed, Howe said: “I don't know, I'm not sure. If there is a set thing, everything's different for every player.

“I know there have been discussions taking place between Paul Mitchell and Fabian's representatives, so fingers crossed we find a solution and we get to a situation where everyone's happy and Fabian can extend his stay with us.”

Despite being a centre-back, Schar has been a fairly regular source of goals for Newcastle under Howe. Since the start of last season the former Switzerland international has found the net nine times for The Magpies, including that iconic strike in the 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Only Harvey Barnes, Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak have scored more goals over the same period - all of whom are attacking players.

And Howe has praised Schar’s game intelligence as ‘elite’, adding: “You can see in recent games, he's been very good in different jobs that we've given him to do.

“I think he is a player that you can use in different ways, very, very flexible in a sense that his game suits the modern way.

“His technical ability goes without saying, but he's very, very good off the ball again. He's quite comfortable jumping into midfield to help us with our press, he's quite comfortable obviously staying in his position as well, but it's that sort of tactical understanding, I think he's elite with his brain in terms of seeing the game, and that's what you get with experienced players in that area of the pitch.

“It's him, Dan [Burn] and the other defenders we've had have done really well this year.”

Fabian Schar discusses the possibility of a new Newcastle United contract

Schar has often been relaxed about his future when asked in interviews, maintaining a consistent message of wanting to stay without.

Schar recently told Swiss outlet BlueSport: “I feel really comfortable at Newcastle. I’ve been playing for years and I have a coach who relies on me. Everything is right for me.

“I would love to stay. The club and the coach know what they have in me. Basically, things have always gone relatively quickly in recent years. The club wanted to keep me, I wanted to stay. That’s why it was never a big deal.”

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