Stefano Pioli gave Malick Thiaw his first taste of Serie A action during last night’s win over Hellas Verona, and it was an encouraging start for the defender.
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MilanNews write how it took Thiaw eight minutes to make his mark in Verona as he first of all made a crucial block to deny a fierce shot from De Paoli on the right side of the area and then he denied Djuric from a narrow angle, essentially preventing two goals and what would have been an equaliser.
Thiaw showed some of the qualities that made him so strongly desired by the management, who waited for the right moment to launch their bid late in the window, eventually convincing Schalke 04 to sell him.
The gradual inclusion of Thiaw in the Rossoneri team had been in Pioli’s mind for some time, but based on the signs from last night – and admittedly more evidence is needed – the German U21 international could represent a concrete alternative in the centre of defence in the league, given he is not in the UEFA squad list.
Having another capable centre-back gives Pierre Kalulu the opportunity to play at right-back while Davide Calabria and Alessandro Florenzi recover, and it also lends credence to the hypothesis three-man defence.
In short, what Milan has on their hands is a defender with quality and potential, ready to fight for a spot while everyone harbours the hopes that it could be a repeat of the Kalulu operation.
