Newcastle United professional
©IMAGO
Malick Thiaw (24) has been thinking about a possible change of association during his long absence from the German national team. The Newcastle United defender is back in the DFB team after more than two years, but could theoretically also play for Senegal or Finland. He has appeared three times in friendly matches for Germany.
“Because I haven’t been at the DFB for two years, I had contact with the other two nations,” explained Thiaw in an interview with the TV station “Sky“. He listened to the associations’ plans, but gave Germany the highest priority. Thiaw was born in Düsseldorf, his father comes from Senegal, his mother from Finland. He has been playing for the DFB since the U21, and there were no sporting contacts with the national teams of his parents’ countries. In Finland, Thiaw would be clearly the most valuable player with a current market value of 30 million euros – 5.5 million euros is the top value there. In Senegal, there are four players above him.
In the latest market value update in England, Thiaw was increased in value by 12 million euros. Last summer he moved from AC Milan to Newcastle United for 35 million euros and got off to a good start. So far there have been 14 missions, eleven of which were over the full distance. “I’ve always played at a good level. That’s why you always hope that you’ll be nominated. That wasn’t the case recently. I still gave my best. That’s why I’m even happier to be able to play for Germany again,” said Thiaw about his return to the DFB team. It is an honor for him to play for the national team. He was very happy about the nomination and was grateful.