Newcastle United’s defending left an awful lot to be desired last season.
For a team who had amassed the joint-second best defensive record in the Premier League during Eddie Howe’s first full season in charge, the drop-off last time out was alarming.
Chelsea and West Ham were the only top half teams who conceded more than Newcastle (62) and that frailty is ultimately what cost them a place in Europe.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool scored more goals last season than Newcastle (85), so it was clearly what was going on at the other end of the pitch that caused such issues.
Howe admitted things needed fixing straight after the final game of the season at Brentford and work has already been done to strengthen his options there.
Lloyd Kelly was signed on a free transfer, while the club also tried to bring in Tosin Adarabioyo on a similar deal.
They ultimately lost out to Chelsea on that front but they remain keen on bolstering their backline.
Now, some insight as to who their dream signing would be has emerged.
Newcastle linked with AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw
Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Newcastle were interested in a move for AC Milan centre-back, Malick Thiaw.
Still, it’s believed that it would take an “important” offer in order to convince the Italian giants to sell.
Adding to the initial reports, journalist Joel Bland claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Newcastle have tracked the 22-year-old for two years.
He also says that Thiaw would be the “dream” central defensive signing for the club’s recruitment staff.
Newcastle and AC Milan have been holding talks
Whether or not Newcastle can put together an offer tempting enough to convince Milan to sell up remains to be seen.
Still, it is a positive that the two clubs do appear to be in some kind of conversation.
Indeed, Newcastle are thought to have offered the San Siro giants the services of Kieran Trippier, albeit Milan aren’t too keen on that particular deal right now.
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