The Swiss centre-back joined Newcastle in the summer of 2018 from Deportivo de La Coruna and has made over a hundred outings for the Tyneside club.
Schar was out of favour under previous Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce, and Howe restored him to the Magpies’ starting line-up after his arrival in November.
The 30-year-old has featured in ten out of eleven Premier League fixtures this season and helped his side to keep five clean sheets so far in the league.
Howe is of the view that the defender has improved significantly in the last few games and praised Schar for his consistent on-field performance.
The Newcastle manager emphasised that the 30-year-old is a key part of his squad and believes that Schar has formed a good centre-back partnership with Botman.
“Fabby is a hugely important part of our team”, Howe told The Gazette.
“He has been a consistent part of our team, he’s been a consistent performer for us.
“He had an excellent game against Manchester United, really, really good together with Sven.
“They had to play very well in order for us to get anything in a difficult away game.
“His use of the ball is very good, he’s very composed but I think in the last few games, there has been a growth in his performances.
“His defensive mindset has been very consistent, he’s very brave with his defending so I’ve been pleased with the pair of them in the last few games, I think they have formed a good partnership.”
Schar and Botman have featured in eight league games together in the heart of Newcastle’s defence and managed four clean sheets.
