Newcastle United have announced that Emil Krafth will leave the club at the end of the season, bringing his seven-year spell at St. James' Park to a close. The 31-year-old defender has not featured since November after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with Sweden, and Eddie Howe has urged supporters to give him a fitting send-off after Friday night's final whistle against West Ham.
Krafth will depart after 106 appearances for Newcastle and leaves with a Carabao Cup winners' medal after helping the club to one of its biggest recent triumphs. In a statement, he said he was grateful to have represented Newcastle for the past seven years and described the club as somewhere he has been proud to call home. He also said he had faced up-and-down moments and difficult periods with injury, but had always felt strong support from fans, team-mates, coaches and everyone around the club.
His exit had been expected for several weeks, and it comes as Newcastle prepare for a first summer window under new sporting director Ross Wilson. Krafth had already shown his resilience once before, returning to top-level football after the serious knee injury he suffered away to Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup in 2022. That recovery helped establish him as a reliable squad player, even if injuries again cut into his run this season.
Howe said Krafth had embodied what it means to be a Newcastle United player on and off the pitch, adding that he had been a brilliant servant to the club and deserved the send-off he will get at St. James' Park this weekend. He also said Krafth had been a big part of Newcastle's success over the last few seasons. For a player who arrived without much fanfare and leaves with silverware, the end of the season now looks less like a quiet exit than a final public thank-you from a crowd that has seen what he brought when he was fit enough to play.
