Pep Guardiola thinks £3m Newcastle player was ‘unbelievable’ last season

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Pep Guardiola has given huge praise to one of Newcastle United’s key players who he claims had a brilliant campaign last season.

It was certainly a season to remember for the Magpies who finished fourth and secured Champions League qualification last year, and there were a few key players who stuck out in that side.

After his side’s FA Cup victory on Saturday, Guardiola had a lot of praise for Newcastle and singled out Fabian Schar for being ‘unbelievable’ last season’.

Guardiola identifies key Newcastle player

It was a comfortable victory for Manchester City on Saturday who only had to deal with two shots from Newcastle, a pitiful attacking performance from Eddie Howe’s side and one of their worst of all time in the Premier League.

It was the result that everybody had expected and there’s no shame in losing to last year’s treble winners whatsoever, but it was the manner in which they looked to just accept the defeat.

After the game, however, Guardiola was very complimentary to Newcastle, as he usually is, offering them advice and support and claiming that they would ‘learn their lesson’ from playing in Europe this year.

The Spanish head coach also identified a few of their key players, listing Schar as being ‘unbelievable’ last season and a huge part of the reason why they were able to finish in the top four.

On Schar, Guardiola said: “They have fast-paced quality players, Bruno Guimaraes, and all these players. [Fabian] Schar last season was unbelievable but last season he played one game a week. This season he’s played a lot which is completely different.”

Newcastle have to look at the positives this season

It may be difficult to do after what has been a very frustrating and disappointing campaign, but Newcastle still have a lot to be positive about in the long-term and the players have to be backed for the new season.

There are still some huge injuries in the squad, Joelinton and Nick Pope in particular have been huge misses these last few months, while others who have returned don’t yet look sharp enough.

Getting them back to full fitness for the new season will be massive for Howe who will also be hoping to add to his already talented squad, yet another reason to feel positive as a supporter moving forwards.

These owners aren’t going to sit on their hands like under the previous regime, they, like the fans, want success and they want it sooner rather than later so will do all they can to make that a reality.