International round-up for Newcastle stars

Malick Thiaw was given the seal of approval by Germany boss Jurgen Klopp as he helped his national side to a xxxxxxxx

Thiaw has endured a mixed start to the season with Newcastle United, regaining his place in the starting XI against Fulham last time out in the Premier League after sitting out three games as Matthias Jaissle preferred Fabian Schar as his right-sided centre-half.

Thiaw had emerged as a key figure in the early weeks of Jaissle's reign as United manager, with the head coach appointing his fellow countryman as captain in the absence of the injured Dan Burn and Joelinton. He was rewarded by some strong performances, only for Thiaw's form to suffer as Newcastle's did and he was taken out of the limelight for a while.

Klopp, however, retains full faith in the former AC Milan defender and started him for Germany ahead of Nico Schlotterbeck on Friday night against Serbia. Thiaw went on to play the full 90 minutes, helping his side secure a 3-1 UEFA Nations League victory.

The Magpies man, winning his 10th cap, impressed alongside Jonathan Tah at the heart of the German defence and Klopp revealed it was Thiaw's physicality which gained him the starting role ahead of Borussia Dortmund star Schlotterbeck.

"We are expecting lots of long balls, so Thiaw and Tah have a slight advantage because of their aerial ability," Klopp explained before kick-off.

Thiaw wasn't the only Newcastle player to impress on Friday night. Teenage midfielder Sean Steur played 78 minutes as the Netherlands Under-21s cruised to a 3-0 victory away to Denmark in their Euro U21 play-off and produced another stellar performance.

The 18-year-old has already become a fan favourite on Tyneside with his mature performances in the middle of the park and he delivered another standout performance for the Dutch youngsters, providing an assist and controlling the midfield with an incredible 98% pass completion rate.

A third Newcastle player on international duty last night was Aladji Bamba. The midfielder has barely featured for Newcastle since his big-money summer move and was hoping to get some serious minutes under his belt while away on international duty, but found himself in a familiar bench role for France U21s last night.

However, the 20-year-old did see some action as he was introduced for the closing stages in a 2-1 home defeat to Italy. He will be hoping for a longer runout when they take on England on Monday.

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