After being pictured at the training ground ahead of his NUFC medical today, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has confirmed that Kenedy is about to seal a loan move to Newcastle – with him also praising the Brazilian’s potential, saying the move represents a ‘great challenge; for him.
Kenedy is a player Rafa has tracked or some time and it seems he’ll finally get him man today. A deal was agreed in principle in the final days of the summer window, however Chelsea failed to bring in a replacement, meaning that deal never happened.
The same deal was then put in place when the window re-opened this month, and the deal has finally being sanctioned by Conte following the imminent arrival of Roma left-back Ederson Palmieri at Stamford Bridge.
Kenedy was pictured getting a train north and arrived in Newcastle last night, with him looking all set to confirm his loan move in the coming hours.
Here’s what Conte’s had to say on the deal when speaking to the press today:
“Yes, I think he is going on loan to Newcastle.”
“We are talking about a young player, with great potential but at this moment in his career, he must play regularly.
“It is a great way for the club, we used same way for Christensen. Now he starts for Chelsea.
“To go to Newcastle, it’s a great challenge for him. It is a great opportunity but he must be ready to fight to play at Newcastle.”
Conte then admitted that Kenedy ‘struggled’ in his previous loan spell at Watford (in 2016), however feels he is now ‘more ready’ to show his ‘potential’ at Newcastle.
“Last season in the first six months for Watford he struggled to play, but now he is more ready. He played with us many games and he can show his potential.”
He’s clearly rated at Chelsea, so it seems he’ll only be here for 6 months and won’t be signing on a permanent anytime soon if he impresses.
Keep your eyes peeled folks – it looks like his signing may be confirmed in the coming hours if all goes well.
