It is hard to believe that the Matz Sels at Nottingham Forest is the same one that Newcastle United had.
The Belgian goalkeeper has been a key player for Nottingham Forest this season, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side aim to defy the odds and qualify for the Champions League.
They are currently third in the Premier League table with 11 games to go, with a former Newcastle United player at each end of the pitch. Chris Wood’s Newcastle spell was not perfect, but he is flying at the City Ground.
While Wood scores goals at one end, Sels keeps them out at the other.
What happened to Matz Sels three months after joining Newcastle United
During his time at St James’ Park, Sels was far from impressive.
He was bought by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2016, arriving for £5million from Gent. Sels bolstered Newcastle’s goalkeeping ranks, as Benitez aimed to guide the Magpies out of the Championship and back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Sels started the season as Newcastle’s number one, but immediately struggled to justify his inclusion in the starting XI.
That boiled over after he was at fault for Aston Villa’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw in September 2016. Following the mistake, Sels received online abuse from some Newcastle United fans, which resulted in him deleting his Twitter account.
After the incident, Benitez called on his players to ignore any kind of abuse on social media.
“We have to concentrate on football,” he told the Telegraph.
“If you have twitter, or another social media account, use it to communicate, but not for interaction. You do not know who is behind a message, so how can you interact? It’s important the players concentrate on their football.
“You can message someone telling them something, but who is the other person making those comments?
“It’s better to ignore that and concentrate on your football – that is what you can improve. Ignore that, listen to your goalkeeping coach and that’s how you can improve and make yourself better.”
That 1-1 draw at Villa Park proved to be Sels’ last Championship appearance for the Magpies. He went on to make five more appearances in the cup, before leaving St James’ Park.
Sels was loaned to Anderlecht in 2017, then joined Strasbourg on a permanent deal in 2018.
Matz Sels was Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup hero
Sels does not resent his Newcastle career, and he is now in England once again and playing at a very high level for Nottingham Forest.
That was on display on Monday night, as Forest advanced in the FA Cup. They beat Ipswich Town to reach the final eight of the competition, but needed penalties to get through.
There is always a hero and a villain in a penalty shootout, and it was Sels who was the hero. He saved Jack Taylor’s effort from 12 yards, keeping Forest’s FA Cup dream alive.
Sels and co will now face Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-final, after Seagulls broke Toon hearts on Sunday.
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