Sometimes a signing just feels right.
Malick Thiaw ticked so many Eddie Howe boxes that the only surprise around the £30m move that finally materialised this summer was how long it had taken Newcastle United to press the button.
Nearly two years of scouting reports, all broadly positive, with character checks of the Germany international to match, had gone before the Magpies finally decided he was the man to end their long search for a right-sided centre-back. A few months into his Newcastle career, it now looks like one of the best signings of the PIF era.
Making a mockery of the idea that overseas defenders need time to acclimatise to the physical demands of the Premier League, Thiaw has settled into life at St James’ Park in impressively short order.
So rapidly, in fact, that the long-term plan to pair him and Sven Botman now looks like the obvious option for the rest of the season. As much as Howe loves the experience and reliability of his other, proven centre-backs, it is difficult to see how he can break up a partnership that is a brilliant blend of physicality, adaptability and technique.
“As soon as he came in, he looked the part,” is the verdict of one training ground insider on Thiaw’s early impact.
The 24-year-old had been warned prior to signing that Howe prefers to blood overseas signings in gently but his attitude was always that he had no time to waste. His application in training impressed from the first day and is being viewed as a big part of why he has been able to grasp his opportunity so quickly.
Summoned from the bench in the chaotic final stages of the rollercoaster home game against Liverpool, he impressed amid the mayhem. But it was 40 minutes against the artisans of Barcelona after Fabian Schar was withdrawn with a concussion that suggested Thiaw might be something different. His pace and power, married to his willingness to break the lines with passes and runs, immediately set him apart.
Having grasped his chance, Thiaw now looks close to undroppable and Newcastle are building a defensive platform that gives them a chance of recreating last season’s impressive feats.
They have the second best defensive record in the division and one analyst who works with Premier League clubs told The i Paper that when Howe’s work with Nick Woltemade and Anthony Elanga clicks, they will be a potent force capable of eclipsing a team that felt over-reliant on Alexander Isak last season.
It is to Howe’s credit that while the Isak saga played out in the summer, Newcastle concentrated diligently on improving their defence. It appears to be working; only Arsenal and Liverpool have scored against them in seven games and they are yet to concede a single goal away from home in any competition.
“When you look at every metric you can see what Eddie has tried to do this summer,” the analyst said.
“With that uncertainty around Isak and who was going to play up front, they’ve doubled down on their defensive combinations and it’s working.”
Some players need less work than others, though. And Thiaw is one of them.
Since he started games they have kept three clean sheets in their last five matches. But he has also added another dimension to a system that Howe has tweaked to adapt to a summer of change. Thiaw leads the league in ball-carrying frequency among centre-backs and has impressed his teammates with his technique.
“What a player,” captain Bruno Guimaraes said. “He [Thiaw] surprised me a lot, he is very good with the ball, without the ball. He is quick, smart, breaking the lines.”
Botman’s return to form is also well-timed. After an injury-hit couple of years, he once again looks like the Rolls Royce defender that had Newcastle fans purring during his debut season in 2022.
The i Paper understands that Botman, whose contract expires in 2027, is keen to remain at St James’ Park and is open to talks surrounding fresh terms.
For the next director of football – and that is likely to be Ross Wilson, sooner rather than later – that feels like a bit of a slam dunk.
“They are the future of the club,” Guimaraes says of Thiaw and Botman. He is not wrong – but recent performances suggest they are the present too.
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