NEWCASTLE UNITED are confident of completing the signing of Fabian Schar in time for the Swiss centre-half to feature in their pre-season tour of Portugal.
Newcastle formally triggered a £3m release clause in Schar’s contract at Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna earlier this week when the centre-half indicated a desire to move to Tyneside ahead of the alternative offers he received earlier this summer.
Schar is travelling to Tyneside today to undergo a medical and finalise the personal terms of his move, and his transfer should be rubber-stamped tomorrow.
That would enable him to fly to Portugal with the rest of Newcastle’s first-team squad on Friday ahead of friendlies against Porto and Braga.
Schar, who represented Switzerland at the recent World Cup, is an experienced 26-year-old who has also played in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim.
He replaces Chancel Mbemba, who completed a €6m move to Porto earlier this week, and will help reinforce a Newcastle defence that could be without Florian Lejeune for the start of the season.
Lejeune, who is not expected to travel to Portugal, has sustained a knee injury that Rafael Benitez admits “could be serious”.
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