‘Massive’… Fabian Schar shares what Eddie Howe did for him in his first days as Newcastle manager

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Fabian Schar has now revealed what Eddie Howe did for him when he first became Newcastle United manager back in 2021.

Schar has been like a player reborn under Howe, like a lot of players in the squad since his arrival, and the centre-back has had high praise for his manager after signing a new contract.

Speaking to NUFCTV, Schar revealed how the 46-year-old head coach placed his trust in the defender form day one and how that helped to give him the confidence to perform at his highest level.

Schar has been one of Howe’s most dependable servants

With his silky style of play and brilliant ability on the ball, grit and determination aren’t the first words that come to mind when describing Schar, and yet that’s exactly what he’s been for Newcastle and Howe.

In the last two seasons, one of which has been plagued by injuries, the Swiss international has been ever-present in Newcastle’s defence and he has thrown his body on the line time and time again for the team.

Newcastle supporters have lost count of the amount of times the 32-year-old has seemingly gone down hard with a possible injury, often to the head, and yet there he is in the starting 11 the next weekend.

Forgotten under the previous manager, Schar has seriously excelled under Howe who he is extremely grateful to for effectively saving his football career on Tyneside.

In an interview, Schar said: “I say this all the time, he was massive not just for me but for the whole club. Obviously, he came in a difficult situation, also a difficult situation for me personally, and he just trust me from day one.

“He’s made me the player I want to be and the player I am at the moment, so I’m really thankful for him and the coaching staff for trusting in me and giving me the confidence to play my game.”

Schar is now one of the best defenders in the league

People often talk about the transformation that Joelinton went through thanks to Howe, but it usually goes under the radar just how forgotten about Schar was before the former Bournemouth man came in.

To go from being consistently left out of a squad that was threatened by relegation every year under Bruce to being one of the first names on the team sheet for a Champions League side in England is absolutely remarkable.

This season alone he’s made a great case for himself to be one of the best defenders in the Premier League, up there with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba and Ruben Dias.

At the age of 32 he shows no signs of slowing down either, in fact he looks to be getting better with age and Newcastle will welcome the news of him signing a one-year extension.