Leeds United released centre-back Conor Shaughnessy in 2021, but the defender is now working his way back up the EFL with Portsmouth, who are on the verge of winning League One and were selected to the Team of the Season.
With three games remaining in Leeds’ season, the EFL has announced their Team of the Season, and the Whites are strongly involved.
Leeds had three players named to the Team of the Season, including both the Young Player of the Season and the Overall Player of the Season.
The EFL Team of the Season has been announced, and each roster has ex-Leeds players.
Leif Davis was picked at left-back following another outstanding season with Ipswich, joining Ethan Ampadu, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter in the Championship starting lineup.
He wasn’t the only former Leeds player chosen to his league’s Team of the Season, as Portsmouth centre-back Conor Shaughnessy made the League One squad.
Salford City striker Matt Smith was picked to the League Two team after a successful season that included a goal against Leeds United in the EFL Cup in August.
Shaughnessy rises after Leeds’ release in 2021.
Shaughnessy’s narrative is intriguing; he broke through at Leeds under Thomas Christiansen in the first half of the 2017/18 season before falling out of favour.
Under Marcelo Bielsa, the Irishman fell out of favour and was repeatedly loaned out until his release a year before the Argentine’s departure.
He first joined Rochdale before moving to Burton Albion a few months later, evidently impressing League One rivals Pompey in the process.
The 27-year-old joined John Mousinho’s club on a two-year contract this season and has become a mainstay in the side that is one point away from promotion back to the Championship, with Shaughnessy boasting the league’s joint-best defence and contributing to 18 clean sheets.
A second chance in the Championship looms for the defender, who appears to have overcome inconsistency and several transfers to win a place in the Pompey backline.
