The Northern Echo has revealed that Newcastle are now ready to push through the permanent signing of Kenedy, but Benitez has admitted that Chelsea are in no rush to sell the Brazilian – making a deal difficult to do.
The Brazilian has already made more Premier League starts for Newcastle than he has during his three years at Chelsea so far, however Stamford Bridge officials will be well aware of just how good he’s been when given the chance.
Chelsea have a habit of loaning out their top youngsters and going on to sell them, even if they impress (Ake, Bertrand, Lukaku, Solanke, Van Anholt etc.), so there’s every chance Kenedy could still go – but he won’t come cheap.
Here’s what Rafa’s had to say on the situation, admitting that they refused to sell him in January and are likely to ‘wait’ this summer in a bid to assess him in pre-season and potentially drive up the price:
“We tried to sign the player (in January) and they said ‘no’ it is a loan now. We could not say we wanted the player permanently because they would say no.
“Chelsea, I am sure they will say wait. Chelsea has a lot of confidence in the lad. When we tried to bring him last summer we couldn’t. The lad wanted to play, but was in a top side.
“We pushed and it was impossible. We were ready in January. I was worried because it was taking too long. We had to be sure we could do it and we did it and now we have to see.”
Having let the likes of Lukaku, Salah and De Bruyne leave too early in the past, it’s no surprise to see Chelsea dig their heels.
Kenedy has looked brilliant during his first proper shot at Premier League football and he’s a player Chelsea’s new boss (Conte is leaving at the end of the season) will want to take a look at.
It’s going to be a difficult one, but the big bonus in all of this is that Kenedy seems very open to the idea of signing.
Let’s just hope Chelsea’s potential price tag is something Ashey (or new owners) would be prepared to pay..
