Newcastle United’s 16/17 Championship winning side – where are they now?

Tuesday, May 7, marked seven years since Newcastle United won the Championship title and regained Premier League status.

Newcastle were a big favourite to go straight back up, with Rafael Benitez staying to manage the club in the Championship, making signings such as Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle who had previously shown quality at that level.

Newcastle won the league on the final day, finishing on 94 points and the top scorers in the league with 85 goals and joint-best defence with title-rivals Brighton with 40 goals conceded.

GK – Karl Darlow

Darlow made 34 appearances for Newcastle during the 16/17 season, despite not looking like he’d play this many games initially.

This is due to the first summer signing Benitez made being a goalkeeper, in the form of Matz Sels arriving for £5M from Gent – who had won the Goalkeeper of Belgium 2015 award. However, his performances failed to deceive.

Darlow is now at Leeds United aged 33.

RB – DeAndre Yedlin

The flying American fullback arrived for £5M from Tottenham in the summer of 2015.

Also, Yedlin the previous season had a loan spell at local rivals Sunderland – however the move was not made permanent.

Yedlin was mostly known for his electric pace and had managed to get one goal and five assists from right-back.

He stayed at Newcastle for another three and a half Premier League seasons, before leaving for Galatasaray in January 2021. He is now at FC Cincinnati; however, he had three seasons at Inter Miami in which he played with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba

CB – Jamaal Lascelles

Lascelles was made skipper for The Magpies by Benitez post the 2015/16 season, despite only being 22 years of age.

Lascelles had arrived at the club in 2014, along with Darlow from Nottingham Forest.

The central defender is still at Newcastle, and is still the official club captain seven years later. However, he is currently out injured with a serious knee injury.

CB – Ciaran Clark

Clark was another summer signing, arriving from fellow relegated side Aston Villa for £5M.

Clark was very impressive for Newcastle during this season and was arguably the player of the season for Benitez’s side.

He added a nice balance with Lascelles being a left footer, and stayed at the club up until the end of the 2021/22 season.

He went out on loan to Sheffield United, and is now playing at Championship side Stoke City.

LB – Paul Dummett

Dummett played all but one of Newcastle’s Championship games.

This was mainly because Dummett was always solid and proved to be a very reliable defender for Benitez, and was a regular during his whole tenure at the club.

The boyhood-fan is still at Newcastle; however, it has been rumoured that he will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.

RM – Matt Ritchie

Ritchie arrived from AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2016, and was the most expensive arrival for a fee between £10-12M.

The Scotsman scored 12 goals and got 7 assists during the Championship season, and was one of the key players of this side.

His role changed slightly during his Newcastle career, playing as a left-wing-back under Benitez and Steve Bruce in the Premier League.

He is described as a very big and important character, and is still at Newcastle today under former manager, Eddie Howe.

CM – Jonjo Shelvey

Jonjo Shelvey had arrived at Newcastle in January 2016 from Swansea for £12M to try and save the club from relegation.

Shelvey was one of two players in the squad that made the Sky Team of the Season, and is regarded as one of the best midfielders to play in the division.

He was known for his expansive passing range, and was very much the main creative player of Newcastle’s side.

Shelvey is currently on loan at Turkish side Rizespor, from Nottingham Forest.

CM – Isaac Hayden

The tough-tackling midfielder was somewhat of an unknown when he arrived at Newcastle from Arsenal in the summer of 2016.

He had previously been on loan at Hull City for two spells, before arriving for an undisclosed fee.

Fans had took to Hayden with his crunching tackles and defensive stability complementing Shelvey very well.

He has suffered a lot with injuries in his career, and is now at QPR after spells at Norwich and Belgian side, Standard Liege.

LM – Yoan Gouffran

Gouffran staying, and playing 39 games in the Championship was somewhat of a surprise, given he had only made nine Premier League appearances the previous season.

Gouffran had scored five goals and registered three assists for The Magpies.

He was released from Newcastle at the end of the season and joined Turkish side, Goztepe.

At 37 years of age, he is now retired.

AM – Ayoze Perez

Perez made 36 appearances during the season, scoring nine goals and getting six assists also.

Perhaps the best memories that season involved him, scoring against Preston North End to secure promotion, then against Barnsley on the final day of the season when the title was won.

He left Newcastle United when Benitez had left, after scoring 12 Premier League goals he moved to Leicester City for £30M. He is now at Spanish side Real Betis, aged 30.

ST – Dwight Gayle

Gayle had arrived from Premier League side Crystal Palace for £9M, and was a very good signing after scoring 23 goals.

He was the clear top scorer for Newcastle with 12 more than Matt Ritchie, and was the only other Newcastle player alongside Jonjo Shelvey to make the Sky Championship Team of the Season.

He is now at newly-promoted Championship side, Derby County, aged 34.