Malick Thiaw: How the Newcastle defender became a ‘mental monster’

No wonder Newcastle have been tracking Thiao’s progress at Milan for some time.

There was a belief within the club that it would be difficult to find another defender of the same standard and at such a price, especially if he was an imposing, athletic player who was comfortable on the ball.

More importantly, Thiaw was also keen on the move.

He had a productive conversation with Howe and it was understood that he saw Newcastle as a ‘match’ for his ambitions.

He was “proud” of Newcastle’s interest after personally doing his bit for the club and the Premier League.

In fact, Paul Winspar, a high-performance consultant who previously worked at Newcastle, says he was able to “sell the North-East a bit” to Thiaw during a training camp in the Lake District a few weeks ago.

Winspar, who has also worked with heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, England rugby union captain Maro Itoje and Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, has always backed the 24-year-old to “enjoy” life at St James’ Park.

“I’m not saying that Milan is not a big team, it is, but the atmosphere is different in Newcastle and it has personality,” Whisper said.

“His mentality reminds me a lot of Toni Rudiger. When you put him under pressure, he will thrive.”

Thiaw certainly had to thrive after Fabien Schar suffered a concussion last month.

Only captain Bruno Guimaraes (167) has made more appearances for Newcastle than Schar (162) under Howe.

Schar has been such an ever-present presence at right centre-back that Thiaw initially had to be patient for his chance after arriving just days before the start of the season.

But Thiaw used that time on the bench to study the games – seeing the “sting” and pace of the Premier League first-hand, Howe put it – and wowed the staff with his performances in training.

So when it came time to make his debut, against Bournemouth, Theo was ready to seize his chance.

Such have been his performances since then, with the 6ft 4in Thiaw retaining the jersey.

This did not come as a surprise to his close friend Erdem Canpolat, who rose through the ranks with Thiao at Schalke.

“Malick never shies away from a challenge and always wants to lead from the front – he’s a real mental beast,” he said.