Newcastle among favourites to sign “unbelievable” £40m star

Newcastle United squeezed into the Champions League by the skin of their teeth at the end of last season.

Eddie Howe won’t be complaining, but the Englishman will be desperate to bolster several areas of his first-team squad ahead of next season.

The club will have money to spend thanks to securing a spot in Europe’s top club competition, but Howe must spend it wisely to ensure Newcastle give a better account of themselves next term.

One area of concern is the defence. Across 48 matches in all competitions, the Magpies conceded 58 goals.

As such, bringing in another centre-back or two could be a shrewd move by the manager, no doubt about that.

Both Fabian Schar and Dan Burn are on the wrong side of 30, and while they did a solid job throughout the 2024/25 campaign, the latter notably earning an England call-up, it is evident that replacing them sooner rather than later is a priority for Howe.

Schar, in particular, was impressive at times in the heart of the Newcastle defence.

Fabian Schar’s statistics in 2024/25

The Swiss defender has been with the Magpies since the summer of 2018, and he has been a regular under a succession of managers at St James’ Park.

Winning the League Cup last term was the culmination of seven years of consistency for Schar, and it was well deserved. Like a fine wine, he seems to just get better with age.

The 33-year-old has played 230 competitive matches for the club and last season saw him feature in 42 games, his second-highest tally for a single season since arriving in 2018.

Across his 34 Premier League games for the Toon in 2024/25, Schar helped them keep ten clean sheets. Furthermore, the defender won 46% of his total duels, averaged 1.1 tackles per game and recovered 3.9 balls per game.

It was his attacking statistics that stood out more than most, however. When compared to his positional peers in the top flight last term, Schar ranked in the top 7% for non-penalty goals (0.12), in the top 1% for total shots (1.23) per 90 and in the top 9% for progressive passes received (0.67) per 90.

These attacking abilities certainly helped play a big part in the club securing a top-five finish in the Premier League, and it is likely that Howe will keep Schar around for another season at least.

With just one year left on his deal, next summer could be the perfect time for him to bow out of St James’ Park.

This summer should be spent eyeing a long-term replacement for the Swiss titan. Might Howe have eyes on a major upgrade?

Newcastle among favourites to sign Schar replacement

Howe has spent the early days of the summer eyeing up attacking talent. Names such as Anthony Elanga, Jack Grealish and even Real Madrid superstar Rodrygo have all been linked with moves to the northeast this summer.

Any one of those players would instantly improve Howe’s side, that’s a certainty. But taking a step back and realising that building from the back should be his main priority.

The club have been keen on Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi for quite some time now. Might this summer be the perfect opportunity to strike?

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Newcastle and Arsenal are battling head-to-head in order to land the Englishman before the end of the summer window.

Being in the Champions League next season has made the Magpies one of the favourites in the pursuit of the defender, as this is the level he will be looking to play at next season.

His contract expires next summer, meaning Palace will be keen to cash in when the iron is hot. As such, he should reportedly be available for around £40m.

There is no doubt that Guehi would be a much better option for Howe than Schar next season, especially after coming off the back of another strong Premier League campaign.

Why Newcastle must sign Marc Guehi this summer

Schar enjoyed a solid season, but switching him for Guehi would make Newcastle favourites to secure another top-five spot in the top flight.

Despite the Swiss’ ability in the final third, Guehi actually outshone him here, registering more goals and assists (five vs four) compared to Schar in the Premier League last season, but he also recorded a higher shots-on-target percentage (46.7% vs 27.5%) and generated more shot-creating actions (44 vs 37) over the course of the season.

Furthermore, the Englishman also won more tackles (34 vs 21) than Schar in the top flight, while tackling a higher percentage of dribblers (66% vs 40%), making more blocks (55 vs 38) and winning more aerial duels (68 vs 56) compared to the Swiss defender.

This comparison indicates that Howe must be doing everything he can in order to bring Guehi to the north of England.

Previously hailed as “unbelievable” by podcast host Aaron Moniz, Guehi has plenty of Premier League experience, having clocked up 132 appearances in the competition.

Add in the fact that he has been capped by England 23 times, it becomes evident that the 24-year-old is one of the country’s standout defenders of his generation.

If Newcastle miss the boat on the Palace star, it will likely haunt Howe. There are other areas in the squad that need to be strengthened also, but with attacking stars like Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes, Howe is stocked in this regard.

With three of his four senior centre-backs aged 31 or older, this department needs some freshness injected into it ahead of 2025/26.

Guehi would be a wonderful signing and his profile fits what Howe is searching for in a defender. With Arsenal also looking to secure his signature, the Toon need to act fast to sign their man.

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