The £70m partnership that is the future of Newcastle United - key duo set to be replaced
Eddie Howe may have just unveiled a new long-term partnership for Newcastle United.
Wednesday night’s 4-1 win over Bradford City in the Carabao Cup marked a first proper appearance for a new Newcastle United partnership.
Malick Thiaw, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan in the summer for £35million, made his first St James’ Park start just days after making his full debut for the club at Bournemouth. But unlike the match at the Vitality Stadium, Thiaw lined-up in a back four alongside Sven Botman with the previously ever-present Dan Burn watching on from the stands along with Fabian Schar.
Burn and Schar have proven a formidable defensive pairing in recent seasons for Newcastle during Botman’s well-documented injury troubles.
But with both players turning 34 this season and with only a year or two remaining on their current deals, the long-term future in the side is unclear. As with any team, there will be a stage where the older pros will have to make way for younger alternatives.
Schar and Burn are still valuable players in Eddie Howe’s squad and have a lot to offer Newcastle, but the added competition of Thiaw and Botman may well have brought out the best in them in the early weeks of the season. Unfortunately, Burn and Schar can’t turn back time and, as such, it is inevitable they will be replaced at some stage.
Fortunately, Newcastle have a £70million ready-made defensive partnership of Thiaw and Botman good to go. With Thiaw 24 and Botman 25, the pair still have the best years of their careers ahead of them, should they be able to stay clear of injuries.
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The defensive future of Newcastle United
We’ve already seen the slow passing of the torch at right-back between Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento. Lewis Hall has also established himself as one of the best young left-backs in the Premier League and is now back from a lengthy injury lay-off.
The English full-back pair, along with Thiaw and Botman can be seen as the long-term defensive future of Newcastle United, with an average age of just 23. A significant decrease compared to Newcastle’s previous back four of Trippier, Schar, Burn and Livramento, with an average age of almost 31.
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With Arsenal up next at St James’ Park and Burn back in contention, it may take time for Newcastle to actually line-up with Thiaw and Botman in a back four with Hall and Livramento on a consistent basis.
But Wednesday’s win over Bradford offered a glimpse of what the centre-back pair could bring to the side moving forward.
“It was a really good start for them as a partnership,” Howe told The Gazette. “I thought they looked really good at Bournemouth, albeit in a slightly different system.
“But [against Bradford] they looked composed, they used the ball really well. They're both very good footballers.
“I think they've got the attributes to suit each other. They started a lot of the attacks for us tonight in a really balanced and composed way. And ultimately, of course, they had to defend well.