Journalist Urges This Newcastle United Defender To Leave: Should Howe Cut Him Loose?

In a recent interview with Area Napoli, journalist Paolo Esposito urged Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar to leave and seal a move to Napoli this summer. Esposito said,

“Schar is an experienced 30-year-old defender, with many appearances in the national team (Switzerland), owned by Newcastle.

“Without spending anything on his name tag, with a low salary to pay him, I would take him.

“He is a versatile defender who can play on the right and in the centre of defence. Excellent in the aerial game and not slow, despite his height of around 6’4″.

“He has personality, a good long throw. Yes, under the above conditions, I would take him to Napoli.”

Schar’s Unimpressive Season At Tyneside So Far

Schar has endured a tough campaign at St. James’ Park as he has struggled to be consistent with his performances at the heart of Newcastle’s backline. The 30-year-old has been involved in 15 matches for the Magpies this season, securing one assist in the process on all fronts.

Still, the ex-Basel talent deserves credit for averaging 0.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 3.9 clearances per 90 minutes in Premier League football. However, he has been sloppy when distributing the ball from the back after completing 67.2% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).

Should Newcastle United Cut Schar Loose This Summer?

Schar can be a rock at the back when he is playing with confidence on the field and can sense the danger well to make the odd interception on the defensive end of the field. He is a solid tackler of the ball and doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when the opposition are on the front foot.

The Wil-born sensation can use his strong 1.86m frame to be a dominant presence in the air but needs to work on improving his passing if he wants to stay relevant at the highest level.

At the moment, Schar remains a crucial member of Eddie Howe‘s squad. However, his current contract at Newcastle is set to run down in the summer. Even then, the Magpies would be better off cutting him loose as he is clearly not good enough to fit the Tyneside outfit‘s lofty ambitions in the coming seasons.