Newcastle United were excellent in the second half against Fulham at the weekend, but Eddie Howe was specifically impressed by one player.
After having to recover from one of the worst injuries in football, Emil Krafth looked back to his best on Saturday as he put in a brilliant performance at right-back.
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It wasn’t the ideal scenario for Howe given that he was forced into making changes due to and injury to Fabian Schar, but in his press conference, the boss revealed that he knew he could rely on Krafth for the rest of the game.
Howe says Krafth was outstanding on Saturday
To come back after a year out with an ACL injury is difficult enough, but to recover and pick up exactly where you left off is not something you see a lot of.
Prior to his unfortunate injury in August 2022, the Swedish international was probably playing his best football and had proven to be a very reliable backup to Kieran Trippier who had suffered a spell out of the team at the time.
Few expected the 29-year-old to have any role to play at the club, especially after the signing of Tino Livramento, but we could yet see Krafth feature a number of times in the second half of Newcastle’s season given how highly Howe rates him.
In his press conference, Howe said: “Emil is someone that has never let me down. He’s come back from a long injury, a very difficult injury, and it’s the type where he’s in isolation a lot.
“But he’s the type that just does his work in such an unfussy way, very diligent.
“He’s come back to fitness and I think he’s looked really good. That was a really difficult moment for him to come into the team off an early injury and I thought he gave a great performance.
“Athletically very good, his speed is still there which was one of his key assets and after a long injury that’s always a question mark. His quality was evident and I was delighted with his performance, he was outstanding.”
Krafth certainly has the ability and the mental strength to still be a big part of Howe’s Newcastle team, and should injuries continue the way they are going, then he could be called upon sooner rather than later.
With Trippier supposedly struggling after being forced off against AC Milan, tonight’s game against Chelsea could be the Swede’s next big opportunity to impress.
Should Newcastle win the game, they will be back in the semi finals for the second consecutive year. If Krafth has a good game at Stamford Bridge then he could be rewarded with a spot in the team for the next round.
