Fabian Schar says his words carry more weight in the Newcastle dressing room now as the Swiss international emerges as a leader for Magpies boss Steve Bruce. Schar has started every Premier League match this season and has perceived how his standing within the team has changed after a string of fine displays.
Although the ex-Deportivo La Coruna man says it is quite difficult to put the feeling into words he has noticed a difference, adding “in the dressing room my word has weight”.
The 27-year-old has also revealed, in an interview with Lucerner Zeitung, that he has changed his diet to adapt to the demands of modern football and the Premier League.
Related: Gunners Showing Schar Interest
When he was younger, Schar had a slight frame which would not have been ideal for the rough and tumble of the English top flight, but he has worked hard to strengthen in certain areas to improve his game. “I know my body a lot better now,” added the defender who works with a private physiotherapist away from the club.
“I abstain from wheat products and as much as possible from dairy products, and meat is a little less on the plate than before.” Schar refuses to be drawn on transfer talk as to where he will move next after a hectic career that has seen him struggle in Germany with Hoffenheim and Spain with Deportivio since leaving Swiss champions FC Basel.
But he does say it was a relief not to be surrounded by speculation over his future this past summer, although at one point in the off-season his name was associated with fallen Italian giants AC Milan.
Schar said: “Do not ask me! I have long since stopped thinking about what might be. I have experienced far too much for that. But one thing I can say is that it was a great feeling to spend a relaxed summer without the question.”
