Fabian Schar's future addressed by Eddie Howe as exit claims emerge

This week, it was reported that Fabian Schar is likely to leave Newcastle United at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Fabian Schar has been a massive player for Eddie Howe since he took the job at St James' Park, and has earned himself several contract extensions in that time.

However, this season, the former Swiss international has missed a lot of games through injury and due to the form of Malick Thiaw. Even though Schar has spoken of his desire to see out his career on Tyneside, that decision isn't solely his.

Now 34, it was thought that Schar would be a casualty of Ross Wilson's mission to lower the average age of the squad and would be allowed to leave the club when his contract runs out in the summer.

Eddie Howe is a huge fan of Fabian Schar

During Friday's press conference ahead of tomorrow's clash with Brighton, Howe was asked whether he feels Schar's absences this season have contributed to the team's underperformance, and the Newcastle boss agreed with that notion before going on to suggest that Schar's future is far from decided.

"Certainly, no decision's been made on Fabian, so in terms of guesses and thoughts of his future, that he will be allowed to leave are very premature.

"He's been a big miss for us, not underestimated by us at all. He's one of the most unique ball distributors, I think, in the Premier League. I don't think you'll see another player distribute the ball like he can, and has done historically for us. He's been very creative from deep areas. We've certainly missed that ability to bypass an opponent's press that he gives us.

"He's versatile, he has played on the left, on the right, in the middle, in a back three. A top player. But also a calming influence, very experienced. He's been a big, big miss. I'm a massive fan of Fabian, always have been. One of the first things I did when I came here was put him into the team, so hopefully we can get him back to full fitness before the end of the season, and in terms of his contract, let's wait and see."

Is Eddie Howe being sentimental?

This could easily be viewed as Eddie Howe being overly sentimental and not letting players go, which has been a criticism levelled at him several times, but in this case, we can see the reasoning behind it.

In fact, Eddie Howe laid it bare in his response. Schar is a unique defender in terms of his creativity and support of the attack. We've struggled to beat the opponent's press for much of this season, and we've been missing Schar for much of this season. That's not a coincidence.

It's imperative that Ross Wilson finds Eddie Howe a player like Fabian Schar who can come in and replace the Swiss star, as he can't play forever. We either need another defender with Schar's range of passing, or we need to completely change our approach to breaking down opponents. Ideally, both.