Elite players are difficult to come by for any club, including Newcastle United.

So when you lose one of them, it is especially tough to take.

I am of course talking about Kieran Trippier.

When I talk of elite players, to be more specific I mean elite footballers.

My definition of them is football players who have the class and quality to retain the ball under pressure, to have that inner confident not to panic. When many fans are shouting “Get rid” and “Launch it”, elite footballers will instead do the brave thing and keep the ball, not just get rid.

If you continually just get rid and launch it, you will lose the vast majority of football matches at the top level. It is unsustainable if you just keep giving the ball back to the opposition when you are under pressure.

It is an unfair comparison when comparing him to an exceptional player like Kieran Trippier but the fact is that Emil Krafth perfectly proves the point. I have frequently heard Newcastle United fans sing the Swede’s praises over the years, how he “Always does a job”, how he “Never lets us down” and so on. Emil Krafth...