Newcastle United had to wait for Malick Thiaw’s arrival, but he has certainly been worth the wait.
Newcastle United’s summer may have been dominated by speculation surrounding Alexander Isak and a string of snubs from potential signings.
The Magpies actually pulled off some strong incoming business, though, with Nick Woltemade’s brilliant displays catching the eye.
Newcastle fans are still waiting for Jacob Ramsey, Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa to shine, but Malick Thiaw looks like a star.
Malick Thiaw worth the wait for Newcastle United
Thiaw joined Newcastle from AC Milan in August, and he has made an almost instant impact.
The German international has looked calm and assured at the back, while possessing the athletic qualities to cope with life in the Premier League.
Quick, strong, tall and with strong reading of the game, Thiaw has looked like the total package in the early weeks of his Newcastle career.
Bruno Guimaraes has praised Thiaw and Sven Botman as a partnership, and that is a combination we could see for years to come at St James’ Park.
Thiaw cost Newcastle around £34million, and that money looks very well spent so far.
It’s actually easy to forget that Newcastle wanted to sign Thiaw last summer, but couldn’t secure a deal.
Eddie Howe was patient, didn’t rush into buying another centre-back and finally landed his man.
That patience has certainly paid off, and as long as Thiaw can stay fit, he should be a fixture of the Toon back line for a long, long time.
Newcastle United repeat Sandro Tonali trick on AC Milan
Newcastle raided AC Milan to sign Sandro Tonali back in 2023, and he has become a star in Howe’s midfield.
Improving Howe’s starting XI by snatching a player away from Milan was satisfying enough once, never mind twice.
Newcastle have now repeated the trick by securing Thiaw, who has been thriving alongside Tonali in Howe’s XI this season.
Snatching two players like Tonali and Thiaw away from AC Milan was a mere dream for much of the Mike Ashley era.
It’s now a reality, and Newcastle appear to have struck gold by adding Thiaw on top of Tonali after their time at the San Siro.
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