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Young Brazilian winger Kenedy’s brief tenure in England has been quite eventful already.
There have been highs — such as being granted (taking advantage of a loophole to gain) a work permit at 19 and making 20 appearances in his first-season at Chelsea (including being one of our better players in the Champions League knockout round against PSG). There have been lows — such as playing 15 total minutes in a half-season loan spell at Watford. There have been beautiful goals, tricks, and displays of strength and enthusiasm, and there was the part where he insulted the most populous country on the planet with a social media post. Some players may not accomplish and experience all that in an entire career. Kenedy’s crammed it into three years.
And he’s obviously not done. Now back on loan at Newcastle for a full year after a successful six months last season, Kenedy still harbors highly ambitious long-term goals.
“It’s not that I didn’t make it at Chelsea. I arrived there at age 19, very young. It was good to be loaned to have more playing time. Better than staying at Chelsea and not playing.”
“I hope this year to have a good season with Newcastle and go back to Chelsea to continue [my career]. I dream of going back and being a champion for the club.”
He’s even learning English! Or at least starting to...
“I don’t think it’s difficult to learn [English], I’m just lazy [to do it]. Now I have a private teacher, trying to evolve. We shall see if it’ll work”
With just a single appearance, Kenedy played a very small part in the Chelsea squad that won the Premier League in Conte’s first year. He was there for the lifting of the trophy, but he understandably didn’t feel a great part of that success. It was probably still fun, but it could get a whole lot more fun yet.
“Being in the Premier League alone is already a great achievement. There are a lot of people who come here and aren’t able to play.”
“For me, it’s been great [but] my dream is to win a title while playing [on the pitch, instead of being just an onlooker].”
-Kenedy; source: UOL Esporte
Kenedy’s still only just 22 and Newcastle do have an option to buy out his loan contract before the end of the season. Should that happen, Kenedy would have to strongly consider where he would want to continue chasing his big dreams.