The cut-price signing Newcastle United can still bank on
One-time banker Fabian Schar, brought in from the cold at Newcastle United by Eddie Howe, is one of the club's best pound-for-pound signings.
Kevin Keegan always said that Robert Lee was his best “pound-for-pound” signing at Newcastle United.
That was quite a statement from a man who made some very astute signings during his phenomenal first spell as manager.
Lee joined from Charlton Athletic in 1992 in a £700,000 deal when the club was in English football’s second tier, and he went on to make 382 appearances during a 10-year stint at St James’ Park.
Signed as a winger, Lee went on to play through the middle before finally taking a more defensive midfield role in the latter part of a glittering United career.
Transfer value
Newcastle have since spent many hundreds of millions of pounds on players – and some have proved better value than others.
Eddie Howe inherited a signing who is mustr be one of the club’s pound-for-pound Premier League buys, having cost the club just £3million.
And that player made a memorable return from a three-game suspension yesterday as United came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 after Howe, unusually, made three changes at the break.
The result, which moved the club up to third place in the Premier League, means the club has made its best start to a season since 1995/96, a season when the team also wore a hooped navy and burgundy adidas away kit.
Fabian Schar equalised at Molineux with a deflected second-half shot struck from around 30 yards, a distance at which no team should leave him unmarked.
Harvey Barnes claimed all three points with a stunning right-footed shot after coming off the bench at the break with Newcastle trailing to a Mario Lemina goal.
Howe had opted to start with “unique” Schar, dismissed for a clash with Southampton’s Ben Brereton Diaz at St James’ Park last month, and that was no surprise given that he’s been a constant for Howe as United head coach.
Speaking before the game, Howe said: “Fabian's ball playing abilities are unquestioned, so we’ve missed that aspect of his game. Fabian’s unique, and, of course, we've missed his outstanding qualities."
In the cold
Yet that same player was bizarrely out in the cold at the relegation-threatened club when Howe succeeded Steve Bruce as head coach in late 2021 ahead of a long winter on Tyneside.
Schar’s future seemingly lay elsewhere amid protests against Bruce and then-owner Mike Ashley.
One of the first things that Howe did was recall that player to the starting XI after an absence of almost three months.
“Obviously, it was tough before (Howe’s arrival),” said Schar at the time. “But since they (Howe and his staff) arrived, I felt confidence from them, 100%.”
Schar was signed by then-manager Rafa Benitez from Deportivo La Coruna in the summer of 2018.
I first spoke to Schar during a pre-season trip to Portugal. The former Switzerland international opened up during an informal media day at the club’s Braga hotel a couple of days after a goalless draw against Porto.
Importantly, Schar already had a feel for the club – and its iconic home.
“I know that Newcastle is a big club,” said Schar. “I know the stadium, because I played in 2012 here (for the Olympics). I was impressed with the stadium, even though it wasn’t a home game.
“I’m really happy to wear this shirt.”
The shirt has been a very good fit for Schar, a fiercely-competitive centre-half who’s as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he is competing for it in the air.
It was those qualities which had caught the eye of Howe during his time as Bournemouth manager.
Speaking to the club’s matchday programme three seasons ago, Schar said: “At that time, I wasn’t sure whether to go into the second league (Championship).
“But I knew him, and the way he plays. I knew it was something that suited me, so, at that moment, it was very important to go somewhere which I think is best for me.
“But when he came (to Newcastle), I had a good feeling about it.”
Contract
Schar, under contract until the end of the season, has always been one of the first names on Howe’s teamsheet, though had the club succeeded in signing Marc Guehi, another right-sided centre-half, from Crystal Palace this summer, he would have faced competition for his place in the starting XI.
The on-pitch contribution of the 32-year-old – who retired from international football after Euro 2024 – since the takeover underlines that the club’s progress under Howe owes as much to coaching and cohesion as the countless millions spent in the transfer market since the club’s 2021 takeover.
United sporting director Paul Mitchell, watching at Molineux with chief executive officer Darren Eales, will do very well to find another gem like Schar in his new role.
And Howe will surely be keen to keep Schar at St James’ Park beyond next summer whatever happens in the next two transfer windows.
The former bank worker remains one of the club’s biggest defensive assets on the club’s books.