Rafael Benitez comments on Newcastle United's chances of signing Kenedy | Sportslens - 2 minutes read


After Kenedy impressed during his short January loan spell in 2018, it was simply a no brainer for Newcastle to sign him again – on a season-long loan – from Chelsea last summer.

However, the 23-year-old failed to recapture the form he showed earlier, and really cut a disappointing figure with just one goal in 25 Premier League games.

Although Rafael Benitez has refused to close the door on the possibility of signing Kenedy this summer, the Spaniard has admitted that signing the Brazilian would be difficult.

Chelsea have slapped a £30million price tag and it would prove to be a major stumbling block for Newcastle United to sign him permanently.

Kenedy struggled to make the starting line up in the second half of the season, and he has now returned to Chelsea.

Benitez has revealed that he held conversations with Kenedy regarding his form last season. The former Liverpool boss has hailed him as a ‘good player’ but admits it doesn’t make any sense to pay £30m for him.

“For different reasons he did not play at the same level. He knows that,” said Benitez to The Chronicle.

“We had a lot of conversations about that. It is a pity because he has all the potential to be a very good player.

“Now he will go back to Chelsea and we will see what is going on with him. But it’ll be very difficult to talk about him.

“They want £30million for him so it makes no sense to have a debate. He’ll go back and we’ll see what happens.”

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