The PFA Championship Team of Year was announced on Thursday, and it includes four former Newcastle players.
In fact, the Magpies will be facing three of them next season in the Premier League.
Norwich’s Tim Krul is in goal after keeping 18 clean sheets on route to the title. Only Freddie Woodman, who lost in the playoff final with Swansea, kept more.
Krul is joined in the team of the season by his Norwich teammate Grant Hanley.
The Scottish international has looked back to his best since leaving Newcastle.
He was signed by Rafa Benitez in 2016, but struggled to nail down a place in the starting XI.
However, he was still an important player according to Benitez.
“Murphy and Hanley were two great signings,” Benitez told the Athletic in December.
“People say they weren’t because they didn’t play too much, but they’re wrong, simply because of the atmosphere they created in the dressing room as well as the contribution they made during matches.”
Toney and Armstrong lead the line in the Championship team of the year
Unsurprisingly, the other two players are Ivan Toney and Adam Armstrong.
The pair have been sensational this season for Brentford and Blackburn respectively.
In total, they scored a combined 63 league goals. For reference, Newcastle sold the pair for a combined £2.4million (Toney – £650,000, Armstrong – £1.75million).
Toney will be joining Krul and Hanley in the Premier League, with Brentford triumphing in the playoffs.
As for Armstrong, he may still end up in the Premier League himself. The forward has been heavily linked with a move back to the top flight.
It’s became very clear over the past 12 months that the Magpies made a big mistake selling Toney and Armstrong.
The pair certainly deserved to be in the Championship Team of the Year. And it will be interesting to see how Toney copes in the Premier League with the Bees.
But will Armstrong join him? He would certainly be welcome back at St James’ Park.
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