You’d be hard pressed to find a better signing for Newcastle United in the last few windows than Malick Thiaw.
It’s certainly up for debate, but no player since Bruno Guimaraes has so easily settled into the team and delivered strong performance after strong performance like Thiaw has.
It was a bargain buy from AC Milan, following in the footsteps of Sandro Tonali, and it looks to have inspired our recruitment team to look return for another Serie A talent. At least that’s what reports in Italy are claiming…
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Newcastle United are showing interest in AS Roma’s Daniele Ghilardi after being impressed by the defender’s displays in Italy this season.
Local outlet RomaGiallorossa have also picked up on Newcastle’s growing interest, claiming we are tracking the 23-year-old closely ahead of the summer transfer window.
With just 16 goals conceded in 26 league games, Roma boast the best defensive record in all of Europe: a fantastic feat considering the typical attacking nature of Gianpiero Gasperini’s sides in the past.
And Ghilardi’s had a big part to play in this defensive dominance, becoming a regular on the left side of their back three after forcing his way into the side in recent months.
Roma are set to make his loan from Hellas Verona permanent this summer for just €8m. And once this move is made permanent, Ghilardi’s contract will run until 2030, meaning the Serie A giants stand to make a big profit should they decide to immediately cash in on the Italian.
Whilst the Serie A’s reputation has taken a hit in the last few weeks after some questionable performances from their sides in Europe, there’s no denying the country is still a hotbed for defensive talent.
After the success of Thiaw, we’ve also seen Atalanta’s Odilon Kossounou linked with a switch to St James’ Park in recent weeks, with Lecce’s Tiago Gabriel another centre-back who has been tracked by Toon scouts.
Who we are REALLY keen on remains to be seen, but it may be no coincidence that Ghilardi, Kossounou and Gabriel are relatively young options who may be considered potential long-term replacements for Fabian Schar or Dan Burn.