'He's creating his own path' - Germany World Cup winner backs Malick Thiaw for greatness

Newcastle star 

Former Germany World Cup winner Benedikt Höwedes has commended Newcastle central defender Malick Thiaw for his impressive start in the Premier League this season, but isn’t at all surprised to see the German international thrive. Thiaw made the move to St James’s Park in the summer in a €35 million transfer from AC Milan, becoming the club’s third most expensive defensive signing ever. And it seems to be a deal that has quickly paid off for Eddie Howe’s team.

To the delight of the Geordie faithful, Thiaw hit the ground running at Newcastle and has started 75 percent of his new club’s games in the league and 83 percent of their Champions League games this season. To his credit, the 24-year-old talent has also scored two goals in his first 22 games for the club, cementing his spot as one of the most impressive signings in the Premier League this season. Like Höwedes, Thiaw began his career at Bundesliga side Schalke, before moving to Serie A. And while the World Cup winner never made the move to England’s top-flight, he commends Thiaw for making the move and now thriving at his new club.

“I mean, he is a great player,” said the 37-year-old former German international. “I’ve watched him already at Schalke properly and the same in AC Milan. He is creating his own path, which is quite impressive. He came through the national team - or to the national team - because he played at a very high level. And that’s not only at national level but at international level too. And that is quite impressive. He’s still young and he can still improve. I would say in the German national team we have Nico Schlotterbeck, Jonathan Tah, and Toni Rüdiger at the moment, who are still better defenders and he could learn a lot from them. If he is with the national team. But I’m pretty sure that he will do it and that he will find his way because he’s too good to fail.”

Thiaw’s move to Newcastle has proved to be the perfect opportunity for the defender to continue his development and push for a spot in Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad for the World Cup next summer. After reaching a peak market value of €30m in late 2023 while playing for Milan, Thiaw’s market value then dropped to below €20m prior to his move to England. However, since the summer transfer and due to his impressive performances, Thiaw’s market value has not only rebounded but hit new heights with a €22m increase in market value in this season alone.

That, unsurprisingly, makes Thiaw the most valuable German defender in the world, placing the Newcastle star level on market value with Borussia Dortmund star Schlotterbeck but ahead of his compatriot on account of being two years younger. And if he can continue performing as he has done for Howe’s team to date, it seems almost certain that Thiaw will be a front runner for the German national team next summer.