I just saw £34m star finally muscle his way into the Newcastle United starting XI

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Newcastle United failed to create more history against Barcelona, but there were plenty of positives to take in defeat.

On a night that saw Newcastle lose 2-1 to Barcelona, Eddie Howe can be happy with a lot of his team’s work. They went toe-to-toe with Barca and created chances, and it could have been a different story had those chances ended up in the back of the net.

But that is the nature of the beast. Barcelona’s class shone through, with the likes of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong putting on a show for the St James’ Park crowd.

In terms of positives, Anthony Elanga performed very well. His speed was frightening, and it is going to be so exciting to see what he can achieve in black and white when he is playing alongside Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa.

But Elanga was not the only summer signing to impress against Barcelona.

Malick Thiaw seizes Newcastle United opportunity against Barcelona

Eddie Howe was forced to make a change in the 63rd minute on Thursday night. Fabian Schar had to come off with a head injury, which handed Malick Thiaw the opportunity to make his second-ever Newcastle United appearance.

The £34million summer signing joined Dan Burn at the heart of the Magpies’ defence, before playing on the right of a back three after Sven Botman’s introduction.

The fact that Howe turned to Thiaw ahead of Botman to replace Schar is already encouraging, as it proves that the Toon boss really does have faith in his new recruit so soon after his arrival from AC Milan.

Thiaw justified Howe’s decision with an excellent display on the bench. He showed incredible calmness and composure on the ball, at a time when Newcastle were desperately chasing the game.

Replacing Schar is difficult. He is a unique player who can do incredible things with the ball for a defender. But Thiaw has shown flashes that he can do the same, and it should lead to him winning his first start for the club.

When Newcastle face Bournemouth on Sunday, Thiaw needs to start. That feels likely to happen given Schar’s concussion scare, but even if the 33-year-old was passed fit to play it should be Thiaw who receives the opportunity.

Howe needs to start bedding in his summer signings, and now is certainly the time for Thiaw.

• Who is Malick Thiaw? Meet the ‘very good’ defender Eddie Howe has brought to Newcastle United

What Eddie Howe told Malick Thiaw about becoming a Newcastle United starter

When you are new signing at Newcastle United, you need to be patient.

That was the message that Howe gave to Thiaw following the Magpies’ opening game of the season. On that day, Schar and Dan Burn played very well in Newcastle’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.

Given their displays, Howe made it clear to Thiaw and Newcastle’s other centre-backs that they would have to keep working hard in training and wait for their opportunity.

“Sven, Malick and Jamaal are all outstanding players individually and will give us a lot this year,” he said.

“But when you’re not in the team you have to be patient, train really well so when you do get your opportunity you can grab it.”

Thiaw clearly has been working hard, and took the opportunity that was handed to him against Barcelona. While Howe will have been devastated about the result, he will have been happy to see Thiaw take his advice on board.