Much has been made about the struggles some of Newcastle United’s summer signings have endured this season, but Eddie Howe is delighted with one of them at least.
The domestic campaign has so far been a struggle for Newcastle United. Indeed, Howe’s side sit only two points above the relegation zone in the Premier League table.
Their significant summer outlay is yet to bear much fruit, although a large portion of their spending was offset by the British record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
New signings Aaron Ramsdale, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey are either yet to be given much of a chance or have failed to take them.
Nick Woltemade, meanwhile, has largely been a delight but has undoubtedly struggled in recent games.
Still, Howe believes Newcastle have struck immediate gold with defender Malick Thiaw.
Eddie Howe says Malick Thiaw looks like he’s played for Newcastle United for years
The Newcastle United manager was speaking on The 2 Robbies Podcast, hosted by Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe.
Asked about the German defender in particular, Howe gave Thiaw the ultimate praise.
“Malick, as you say, [has] recently [come] into the team and seems like he’s been in the team for a lot longer than that,” he said.
“He’s settled in really well. He’s built up a good relationship with the players around him. And yeah, delighted with how he started.”
How Malick Thiaw’s rapid-fire rise breaks the mould for Eddie Howe at Newcastle United
Interestingly, there is an acceptance behind the scenes at Newcastle that new signings take a while to develop under Howe, such are the level of his demands.
That will hopefully prove true of Elanga and Ramsey, while it has very much proven to be the case with the likes of Lewis Hall and Anthony Gordon in the past.
With that in mind, the ease with which Thiaw has slotted into life in the Premier League has been little short of remarkable.
So far this season, there haven’t been many bright spots. Thiaw, however, has been one of them.
Woltemade has shone in spots while Thiaw has brought a level of consistency that some of his teammates have been profoundly lacking.
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