Eddie Howe admits things could've been very different for Fabian Schar

Eddie Howe has lumped the praise on his talented defender after Fabian Schar’s key role in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg victory over Arsenal.

Newcastle United booked their place in the final at Wembley where they will face either Liverpool or Tottenham after getting the better of the Gunners both home and away in what was ultimately a comfortable victory, despite some nerves coming into the return leg.

The whole squad can be proud of their contributions to achieving the feat of two finals in three years, but Joelinton’s recent minor injury has Howe forced to use Schar in a different role - and it’s one he excelled in on Wednesday night.

Howe hails multi-talented Schar

After stepping into midfield last night to do a man-to-man job on Declan Rice, Howe has been discussing Schar's "special" abilities and his potential to play in very different roles.

The Mag manager believes that the 33-year-old's technical capabilities could have led him down a very different career path, in the midfield as a No. 6 - or even a No. 10! Schar has a reputation for scoring screamers, but his on the ball abilities are far much more than just ranged strikes.

"That was Fabian's job, off the ball (to go man-to-man on Declan Rice),” said Howe of Schar. “He did it brilliantly. It's not easy for a centre-back to travel those distances. I was a centre-back and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to do it!

"He has real talents and one of those is that he's very aggressive. If you give him a job to do, he will try and follow it to the letter.

Fabian could've been a long of things. He's not your traditional centre-half by any means. He could've been a No.6, probably could've been a No.10.

"We are grateful to have him in the position he plays; he's very creative and has done some special things since I've been here."

The centre-back, in his more advanced role, was rightly credited with the assist for the second goal on Wednesday night as his high-press during man-to-man marking flicked the ball into Anthony Gordon who added Newcastle’s second of the night.

Deserves new deal despite centre-back links

Schar has aged like a fine wine, and he has plenty more to offer, as he demonstrated on Wednesday night. There would be no complaints at all should he land a new deal, with his currently expiring in the summer.

There have been many talks about Newcastle signing a younger right-sided centre back to pair with Sven Botman but Schar, in a similar vein to Kieran Trippier, can be a superb example to learn from for any up-and-coming replacement.

Recently retiring from international duties, the Swiss has showed little signs of slowing down and has at least another year of first team contributions in his leg. Simultaneously, Newcastle do need to consider reinforcing and future-proofing his position.