‘From November onwards this Newcastle United star has been exceptional’ Troy Deeney

Troy Deeney has picked his best 12 performers from the weekend action.

The Premier League team of the week (and manager) that have most impressed him.

Included in his dozen choices is one from Newcastle United.

This NUFC player with a sizeable contribution to the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

United getting what felt like an essential win, as they looked to follow up the away victory at Burnley, to make further progress up the table.

Troy Deeney explains why he has picked out Malick Thiaw for his Premier League team of the week and then the full eleven (twelve) are listed below:

Troy Deeney declaring: “From November onwards, Malick Thiaw has been exceptional.”

I would agree AND disagree with this claim.

Mailck Thiaw has been exceptional from November onwards BUT he was also exceptional before that!

Indeed, from his very first appearance back in August, this has been the case. Thiaw came on in the 81st minute with United a man down and losing 2-1 at home to Liverpool. It was gutting when we lost that match but I remember clearly that amongst the positives, the Germany international looked so assured and confident in a very difficult first appearance.

Troy Deeney going on to say: “Solid performance, delivered, was more aggressive and I feel like he is starting to get his bearings now and feel like he is the man at Newcastle.”

Again, apart from that very poor goal he gifted against Chelsea two weeks ago, Malick Thiaw has had his “bearings” at Newcastle United.

Thiaw was excellent against Mateta, who is a real handful, Schar as well I thought was very good against Palace and their centre-forward.

Troy Deeney admitting: “Malick Thiaw scores a goal, which always helps for any defender in this team of the week.”

This is a regular thing with Deeney, defenders named in his PL team of the week have invariably scored a goal.

Indeed, six weeks earlier, when Malick Thiaw scored twice in the 4-1 away win at Everton, Troy Deeney selected the Newcastle United star then: “Scored two at Everton and has been a real revelation since he came from AC Milan. He made a lot of mistakes last season in Serie A but Eddie Howe and Newcastle seems to be a good fit. He has been a beast these last few weeks – two goals also obviously helps as a centre-back.”

I think to a large extent with the national media, Malick Thiaw has largely gone under the radar this season, in terms of not giving him the headlines that his performances should have prompted. Obviously it is far easier to build a headline and main focus on say Nick Woltemade when he has scored a winning goal, than Malick Thiaw ‘just’ putting in another excellent defensive display.

Fact is that they have both proved to be two more exceptional Eddie Howe signings and no surprise that the German pair have been playing for their country, with Thiaw returning after a more than two years gap, due to his NUFC form.

Troy Deeney Premier League team of the week:

Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)

Matty Cash (Aston Villa)

Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United)

Nathan Collins (Brentford)

Ben Davies (Tottenham)

Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Mateus Mane (Wolves)

John McGinn (Aston Villa)

Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City)

Igor Thiago (Brentford)

Cody Gakpo (Liverpool)

Manager:

Rob Edwards (Wolves)