Fresh off the heels of the Carabao Cup triumph, behind-the-scenes work is already in place to bolster Newcastle’s squad for next season.

One of the key areas the club is focusing on is the defence, with Paul Mitchell seemingly keen to see through his plans of bringing young, established stars to the club.

And with a club stalwart set to sign a new deal very soon, we could soon see the most exciting Newcastle defence since the 22/23 season began.

New contract moves closer

One of the club’s cult heroes over the past few campaigns, Fabian Schar stands as one of THE bargain buys of the last decade in the Premier League at £3m.

Now entering the twilight of his career, and having retired from the Swiss National Team, it’s looking increasingly likely that Schar will wrap up his club career on Tyneside.

In his latest piece for the i, Mark Douglas reveals that Schar is now ‘moving closer’ to signing a new deal, with Eddie Howe urging Toon chiefs to avoid losing him on a free transfer this summer.

Douglas writes on the matter: “While there remains some work to be done on the contract terms there’s a belief that Schar will remain at the club next season.”

“At 33, he does not quite fit with the overall aim of the club to lower the average age of the squad, but Howe has urged Newcastle to retain his services.”

“Fast-track progress on and off-the-field this year”

With some more PSR headroom achieved through recent departures, and an ownership wholly committed to the club, it’s looking increasingly likely that Newcastle will be able to exercise some serious spending in the upcoming summer transfer market.

PIF Governor and Club Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is reportedly very enthusiastic with how things have been at the club, and seems prepared to back Howe and Mitchell significantly in the summer.

“Al-Rumayyan, whose presence on the Wembley pitch has drawn criticism, has told club staff that he wants to fast-track progress on and off-the-field this year.”

“There is excitement about what Newcastle can do with further backing in the transfer market, although there is a recognition that playing in Europe next season will require strengthening the current squad and retaining most of those who are out of contract.”