Malick Thiaw surprised many by being one of Milan’s key players in their Champions League win over Tottenham, showing why the club picked him up in the summer.
The Rossoneri paid Schalke around €7m for the 21-year-old German centre back in the summer, signing him to a five-year contract. It was a transfer in line with their project, adding a young and talented option to Stefano Pioli’s squad.
Thiaw’s life in the Lombardy capital started slow and he hardly featured in the first half of the season, making just four Serie A appearances in the run-up to the World Cup break. He played a full 90 minutes in Milan’s 1-0 win over Torino last weekend and earnt his Champions League debut against Tottenham, where he shined throughout the match.
As highlighted by TMW, Thiaw is now starting to look a smart investment by Milan, who only paid €7m for the talented defender. His performance against Spurs perfectly exemplifies his qualities and suggests that he’ll grow into an important player for Stefano Pioli in the years to come.
Against Tottenham, Thiaw won three tackles and eight ground duels, and made four recoveries and three interceptions.
Who knew we shouldn’t write the guy off after a few months? That transfer team has enough credit in the bank for the fans to trust in them.