Everton could have signed Thiaw, but club luckily blocked move
Everton had a hectic month in January and signing players was the least of their concerns while they were searching for a new manager.
Despite that, they were able to bring in five new faces in 31 days but a centre-back was not one of those through the door.
According to Sport1, Schalke’s Malick Thiaw was one name on the club’s shortlist but a move never materialised for the 20-year-old.
Partly down to the Toffees’ unresolved manager situation at the time, but perhaps mostly because Schalke refused to sell, as sporting director Rouven Schroder highlighted in an interview with WAZ.
“We had a clear position. The player belongs to us and has a contract,” Schroder said. “Malick is a very important building block for us.”
When everyone looks back at January of 2022 at Goodison Park, the failed signing of Thiaw almost certainly won’t even cross the minds of the vast majority of supporters.
With good reason too because at 20 years of age, he wouldn’t have come in to be any more than a backup on Merseyside and that isn’t the calibre of player Everton should be chasing.
With a new manager at the helm in Frank Lampard, the club had bigger fish to fry than finding cover in central defence and went about sorting out their desperate need for a creative midfielder instead.
Thiaw may well go on to be a fantastic defender and as a German youth international, he is already on the path to becoming a regular in the top divisions in Europe but this move was too soon for him.
It was better for everyone that the deal never happened and now the Toffees can look forward to a fresh start under Lampard.
In other Everton news, this outcast wants £800,000 from the club to leave Merseyside before his contract expires.