Morgan Gibbs-White hails ‘incredible’ former player as ‘king of the Championship’

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Morgan Gibbs-White is now one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League but like many others starring in England’s top-flight, two loan spells in the Championship have been the catalyst for his progression.

In the 2020/21 campaign, Swansea City took Gibbs-White on loan, although his season was hampered by a broken foot and he only appeared five times in the Championship.

The youngster’s struggles didn’t deter clubs from chasing him on loan, as Sheffield United took him to Bramall Lane for a season and he repaid their faith with some outstanding performances.

Gibbs-White plundered 11 goals and supplied nine assists in 35 appearances as the Blades finished in fifth position before losing to Nottingham Forest in the play-off semi-final.

The 25-year-old’s outstanding performances in the second tier ironically resulted in a lucrative move to Forest in 2022, and he’s since established himself as a quality playmaker with the Reds valuing him at £100 million.

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Morgan Gibbs-White hails Adel Taarabat as the ‘king of the Championship’

Although Gibbs-White is currently starring in a Forest side that is occupying the Champions League positions, he will always be remembered by many for his loan spell at United in the second tier.

Recently, the Forest playmaker was asked to blind rank his ‘streets will never forget’ players which featured some well-known EFL stars, including Wilfried Zaha, Ravel Morrison and Yannick Bolasie.

But there was only one player who Gibbs-White could crown as number one, and that was former Queens Park Rangers superstar Adel Taarabt.

When Taarabt popped up as the final player to select, and with only the top spot available, Gibbs-White was relieved. “Oh incredible, king of the Championship,” he said of the Moroccan, who certainly deserved his place at the top spot, even above the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Hatem Ben Arfa.

Taarabt’s sensational 2010/11 campaign for QPR

The term ‘streets won’t forget’ is often thrown around loosely but no EFL supporter can forget the insane numbers Taarabt produced for QPR in the 2010/11 campaign.

QPR cantered to the Championship title in 2011, and manager Neil Warnock had his superstar Moroccan to thank for firing them into the Premier League.

Taarabt was unplayable with his incredible skill and trickery with a relentless end product to match as he plundered 40 goal involvements in just 44 matches.

It’s inarguably the greatest individual campaign in Championship history, as Warnock would testify, placing his name among some of the best to grace the second-tier.

Now aged 35 and playing for UAE side Sharjah FC, Taarabt is approaching the end of his career, with QPR always holding a special place in his heart.