It has now been revealed by the media in Germany that Newcastle United star Malick Thiaw turned down a chance to return to the Bundesliga in the latest transfer window.

Newcastle United signed the central defender from AC Milan on 12 August 2025.

United paying a guaranteed £30m to the Serie A club.

The deal also including a reported extra £4.3m in potential future add-ons in an overall £34.3m deal for Malick Thiaw.

The German international had originally joined AC Milan from FC Schalke 04 in June 2022 for around £11m.

Now Sport Bild have revealed that Malick Thiaw turned down the chance in summer 2026 to return to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.

The two clubs met last season in the Champions League when Newcastle United were denied a 2-1 away victory thanks to a very late Bayer Leverkusen equaliser.

Malick Thiaw was one of Newcastle United’s best performers in a very difficult 2025-26 season that saw a small squad hit by many injuries, having to play 58 matches. Thiaw played in 54 of the 58 including 51 times in the starting eleven.

Sport Bild say that Bayer Leverkusen wanted to recruit top German players in the summer 2026 transfer window and had considered a handful of different top targets.

Bayer Leverkusen then did make approaches for German internationals Angelo Stiller (of Stuttgart) and Newcastle United’s Malick Thiaw, only for both players to turn them down.

Euro 2024 had seen Bayer Leverkusen have three players in the first choice Germany starting eleven.

Only two years later the Bundesliga club having zero players in the first squad choice for Jurgen Klopp last month, even though he named 44 players.

The form that Malick Thiaw showed for Newcastle United last season got him back into the Germany squad after a two year absence and he ended up playing at the 2026 World Cup finals.

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