Newcastle nets Swiss defender

NEWCASTLE United signed Switzerland defender Fabian Schar on a three-year deal yesterday.

Schar played three games at the World Cup in Russia, and missed the last-16 match against Sweden because of a suspension.

He’s moved from Deportivo La Coruna, for which he appeared 25 times in his first season. He was previously at Hoffenheim and Basel.

“This is a really big club for me — it has a big name and it is a brilliant chance for me,” the 26-year-old Schar said.

He is Newcastle’s fourth signing of the offseason, after Martin Dubravka, Ki Sung-yueng and Kenedy.

Also, Bayern Munich has agreed to sign Canadian teenage forward Alphonso Davies from the Vancouver Whitecaps in a transfer worth up to US$22 million, a record for a Major League Soccer player.

The Bundesliga champion says the 17-year-old Davies, a naturalized Canadian born in Ghana, will join on January 1 and his contract will run through June 2023. He turns 18 in November.

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic says, “He offers a lot of promise for the future. Alphonso already possesses great ability, which is why a lot of top clubs were keen on him.”

The Whitecaps said the deal includes a transfer fee and additional compensation that could total more than US$22 million, the most received by an MLS club in the league’s 23-year history.

Davies scored three goals for Canada in the 2016 CONCACAF Gold Cup.