Newcastle United’s defensive options have remained the same for a while now.
Indeed, Newcastle were keen on the signing of a new defender last summer. Sadly, Newcastle failed to sign Marc Guehi, despite making a number of bids for the Crystal Palace star.
Lloyd Kelly did arrive at St James’ Park on a free transfer from Bournemouth but that experiment is now over.
Kelly joined Juventus on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, leaving Eddie Howe with the same options he had at the end of last season.
That is not necessarily a bad thing of course but it does mean the Newcastle United manager has to get the most of the players he has available.
One of those is Emil Krafth. The Sweden international has rebuilt himself since Steve Bruce left, so much so that Howe has praised Krafth as “brilliant”.
Now, it seems that talks to keep him are underway.
Eddie Howe confirms Newcastle United are in talks with Emil Krafth over a new contract
Krafth’s contract expires this summer, although that may not be the case forever.
Howe has confirmed Newcastle are in talks with the defender over a new deal and underlined his desire to keep the 30-year-old on Tyneside.
Asked about the defender’s future at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Howe said: “I believe talks are ongoing. He’s someone we want to keep.”
Clearly someone Howe rates, it seems a wise decision. Newcastle would only have to spend to replace him and there’s no guarantee anyone coming in would be as reliable a back-up.
Emil Krafth could change position at Newcastle United
A right-back by trade, Howe has confirmed Krafth could change position full-time and morph into a central defender.
In fact, Newcastle see Krafth as a replacement for Kelly in the squad, which indicates they really do see him as a centre-back going forward.
Krafth is happy with his back-up role at Newcastle, so this seems a wise move all round.
It’s got to the point where letting him go would surely be a mistake.
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