Malick Thiaw

[CPL]

Half the price of Guehi plus the height. He seems to possess all the attributes a great defender needs. I think his style suits England more so than in Italy. 

[El Prontonise]

Take back everything I said earlier in the thread, he's been absolutely superb.

[Curva Sud Milano]

3 hours ago, CPL said:

Half the price of Guehi plus the height. He seems to possess all the attributes a great defender needs. I think his style suits England more so than in Italy. 

 

I think this too and I think I wrote it this summer.

It must be said that even though the technical level of Serie A has plummeted dramatically over the last 15 years, a young foreign defender who comes to play in Italy certainly learns something that can be very useful later abroad. Even an 18-year-old like Leoni, in his only unfortunate match for Liverpool, looked like a veteran who had always played in the Premier League.

It's no coincidence that the only English players who have worked well in Italy have always been midfielders;  defenders and attackers have often failed... I absolutely loved Des Walker when I saw him on TV; he was certainly world-class but when he arrived at Vialli and Mancini's Sampdoria (which was a great team) he seemed like a mediocre player (which he wasn't).

Anyway, getting back to Thiaw, we unfairly slaughtered him last season but it wasn't his fault... Fonseca and Conceicao did enormous damage but, mistakenly, our anger was directed at some players who were not to blame.

If Howe can correct his biggest flaw (general positioning, especially in certain situations like corners or set pieces), he'll soon become an irreplaceable player.

[PauloGeordio]

 

[Begbie]

3 hours ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

It's no coincidence that the only English players who have worked well in Italy have always been midfielders;  defenders and attackers have often failed... I absolutely loved Des Walker when I saw him on TV; he was certainly world-class but when he arrived at Vialli and Mancini's Sampdoria (which was a great team) he seemed like a mediocre player (which he wasn't).

Im not sure that I agree with you on this one. Lloyd Kelly was not good enough for us, and even though had a lot of grief he still get selected for Juventus, also Smalling to Roma. Trevor Francis back in the day for Sampdoria, helping them lift their first coppa Italia. If you also take one of mye favorit players Shevchenko he failed massivly for Chelsea, but was a world-class player in Serie-A and maybe the best in the world at that time. You can go back and forward like this.. You have players like Lineker who I think would have suited Serie-A back in the day, but I cant think of many defenders back then since it was more kick and run.  I do think it comes down to the style, the type of player and where they are in their career. 

 

There are not many english player in genereal going abroad and also one of the main problems of the last 15 years is that the PL players have become to expensive for Serie A(or other leagues), so you dont get many english players over there.

[KennyUtd]

Possibly our most important summer signing. He's class.

[Mole]

2 minutes ago, Begbie said:

Im not sure that I agree with you on this one. Lloyd Kelly was not good enough for us, and even though had a lot of grief he still get selected for Juventus, also Smalling to Roma. Trevor Francis back in the day for Sampdoria, helping them lift their first coppa Italia. If you also take one of mye favorit players Shevchenko he failed massivly for Chelsea, but was a world-class player in Serie-A and maybe the best in the world at that time. You can go back and forward like this.. You have players like Lineker who I think would have suited Serie-A back in the day, but I cant think of many defenders back then since it was more kick and run.  I do think it comes down to the style, the type of player and where they are in their career. 

 

There are not many english player in genereal going abroad and also one of the main problems of the last 15 years is that the PL players have become to expensive for Serie A(or other leagues), so you dont get many english players over there.

I think historically they've been very different leagues that require totally different skill sets so it's not a surprise one player would find success here and not there as well as vice versa.

 

In simplistic terms in Italy there has been much larger focus on the tactical side of the game where as in England there's a much larger focus on the physical side of the game.

 

Nothing wrong with either approach, they're just different and serve you better in some ways and don't serve you well in others.

 

I genuinely think that's all this is tbh, Thiaw physically is very impressive (quick, strong, good in the air etc) and he gets to showcase that part a lot more here than he did in Italy.

 

I'm sure it helps that with Howe, the coaching staff is a lot more secure and stable than it was for most of his time in Milan from what Curva was saying.

 

Those are probably the main factors that explain his success here, he probably isn't a 80m+ defender in Italy but in England he very much might be.

[Lush Vlad]

Surely be back in the Germany squad soon? He’s been very good for us and yesterday he was brilliant. MOTM by a street, I thought.
 

He really took the game by the scruff in the last 20 minutes or so. Went full Bruno in trying to put the team on his back and win us the game. 

[Ronaldo]

45 minutes ago, KennyUtd said:

Possibly our most important summer signing. He's class.

No chance. If we don’t sign Woltemade we’re probably on 8 points or less.

[Astroblack]

Fave thing about Miliack was when he asked what his favorite food was, he said his wife’s. Family man through and through. What a guy 

[LFEE]

On 26/10/2025 at 14:26, Ronaldo said:

No chance. If we don’t sign Woltemade we’re probably on 8 points or less.

Nah… Isak would’ve bagged for us in the games since the window closed I reckon.

[Lucky]

Not sure when in his career but his wiki says he can also play defensive midfield. I’d love to see what that power, pace and distribution would let Sandro and Bruno achieve either side of him.
 

Schär would be a downgrade at the back though, on what we’ve seen so far this season.

[tarie4]

1 hour ago, LFEE said:

Nah… Isak would’ve bagged for us in the games since the window closed I reckon.

The unfit Isak, who would be sulking about not getting his move? You can bet he would have felt his groin in the 1st 10 mins of him pulling a Newcastle top on.

[STM]

"Overpayed". 

 

Tickles me every time.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

7 minutes ago, STM said:

"Overpayed". 

 

Tickles me every time.

I just want people to tell me where the cutoff is. Usually about £5m higher than a bargain. 

[The Prophet]

Not that it matters, but in hindsight it seems a bit mad that he was the original RCB target, before we changed course and attempted to pay nearly double for Guehi.

[TRon]

11 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

Not that it matters, but in hindsight it seems a bit mad that he was the original RCB target, before we changed course and attempted to pay nearly double for Guehi.

 

 

Guehi is probably the more polished player tbf, but unfortunately the PL tax means he costs twice as much. Malick probably has just as high a ceiling. 

[Vaj]

Can’t be many better summer signings than this guy, what a beast! Just needs to cut down on the wild yellow cards but with how much he presses I guess it’s a necessary consequence of that. 
 

He was amazing for the second goal

[nemtizz]

So good for the second goal. Came out of nowhere.

 

Feel like he needs at least one reckless, poorly timed challenge every game though

[Optimistic Nut]

Has a rash tackle in him but fucking hell, so good. 

[Astroblack]

Another game where he’s been a threat in the opposition box. Should have had an assist today, 100% sure he’ll get a few goals this season. 

[Aiston]

Quality again, think we'll have to get used to the rash tackle every so often from him

 

[The Prophet]

On top of everything else, he's a leader. Could see him as captain one day.

[Mikky]

Malick Thiaw Shall Not Pass

[GEFAFWISP]

That block early doors on Richarlison was magnifique, great pace. He also started the move for the 2nd with a high interception in their half, some signing this guy. Maybe we should just sign the players we want immediately instead of waiting 3 years with endless monitoring?

 

 

Edited October 29, 2025 by GEFAFWISP