Can you help with this Mam?

This plant was acquired at a discount price from a garden centre. It had been damaged, the growing head was damaged and three offshoots from the base were dead so I removed the offshoots. I do not think it was damaged by pests, maybe it was frost damage over winter. It is growing happily now, but the growth at the top is different. The plant looked distinctive to me something like M. magnifica or M. rekoi ssp leptacantha. It has long marmalade hooked spines, and is columnar in growth. It has not flowered.