For me, Fabian Schär has to be classed as one of last summer’s best bargains of the transfer window.

Sky Sports reported that Newcastle United signed the defender in a £3m deal from Spanish side Deportivo La Coruña.

Before joining the Premier League club the twenty-seven year old won three Swiss league titles with FC Basel, played in the Bundesliga with 1899 Hoffenheim and then had his season in La Liga.

The twenty-seven year old has also collected forty-six caps for Switzerland and he was included in his national team’s squads for 2016 Euros and the World Cup in Russia.

Schär has used all that experience to settle in well at The Toon.

Newcastle Utd have been pretty solid under boss Rafa Benitez, with the defence being particularly strong this season. They’ve only conceded thirty-eight goals so far this term, only five English top flight sides have conceded less this season.

Benitez has praised his recent signing (From The Shields Gazette):

“We knew he had experience and had some quality on the ball, especially with his right foot. He has done really well. We have some really good centre-backs.”

Fabian has been one of The Magpies top performers. His strong defensive displays have now seen the centre-back linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur (Source – The Mirror).

I think it would be a move that would make a lot of sense for Spurs if they could agree a deal with Newcastle United. Rivals Arsenal have also been linked with his signature.

Although he’d obviously be brought in for his defensive qualities, it should be noted that the Swiss internationalist has scored three times in his eighteen league appearances so far in this campaign.

One of those strikes was an absolute stunner against Burnley, which gave Schär the goal of the month award in February.

According to football stats website Whoscored; Schär has won around 3.1 aerial duels, makes 2.4 tackles per Premier League appearance, completes 2.6 interceptions and makes nearly 6 clearances too.

His passing stats aren’t the best at 67.7% but in his last six games for Switzerland he has an average  passing success percentage of 85%. The amount of passes he makes also jumps up when he’s on international duty. He has also provided two assists in his last three games for his national team.

That shows us in the right team, not one worried about a relegation battle, that Fabian is efficient with the ball at his feet. Which would attract Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

It could be a big summer for the Tottenham defence.

It looks likely that the North London club will probably lose Toby Alderweireld. Tottenham Hotspur decided to trigger the experienced Belgian centre-back’s one year contract extension but that means the player can leave in the summer if a club meets his £25m minimum release clause (Via The Telegraph).

Toby’s possible departure would leave a big hole in the Spurs backline.

There’s no doubting Jan Vertonghen’s ability at the back. He’s a solid performer, who has continually helped Tottenham’s ambitions of reaching the Champions League. The main issue is that the thirty-one year old always seems to miss parts of a season due to injury issues.

Colombian international defender Davinson Sanchez hasn’t looked as reliable this season as he did last. Errors have crept into the twenty-two year old’s game and Pochettino doesn’t seem to trust him as much.

Twenty-one year old Juan Foyth has a lot of potential but the Argentine is still pretty raw. At times this year he’s looked a bit nervy and will probably need more time to settle in before he’s ready to play week in and week out in England’s top tier.

So you’ve got to imagine that Spurs will want to bring in another experienced centre-half.

One that’s just entering his peak years, one that can keep things tight at the back, one that will be able to pass the ball out of defence and a player that has experienced life in the Premier League.

Newcastle United central defender Fabian Schär seems to fit the bill and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tottenham Hotspur were to make a more for the Swiss star when the summer transfer window opens.

Posted on March 10th, 2019 by scott
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