Chelsea have told Newcastle that they’ll have to pay a staggering £30m to sign Kenedy permanently this summer according to the Chronicle.
Given how badly the Brazilian’s second loan spell at St James’ Park has gone this season, it’ll be no surprise to hear this is a deal we will NOT be pursuing.
Here’s a snippet from Lee Ryder’s latest piece on the winger, suggesting Chelsea are unwilling to budget on their £30m despite his form and the fact he’s out of contract next summer:
‘Newcastle United are unlikely to pursue a permanent deal for Kenedy this summer – unless there is a dramatic drop in price from Chelsea.
‘United chiefs were desperate to make a big thing of Kenedy’s loan signing last summer but the move has been a failure.
‘Kenedy has not been in the squad for the last three matches and has made just 14 starts this season, netting one goal in the 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.
‘Chelsea want an eye-watering £30million to make the deal a permanent arrangement but with just a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, United don’t see any value in buying Kenedy at that price.’
In all honesty, I think the both Benitez and the club would have reservations over a permanent deal for the 23-year-old at half that price.
He has just one goal and one assist all season and is now behind the likes of Atsu and Muto in the pecking order, having missed out on Rafa’s match day squad over our three last three games.
Does he have ability? I think so, but his final ball, touch, ability to pull off skill and even his work rate has been worryingly inconsistent over the past 18 months, giving us no reason to believe he’s worth anything like £30m.
