After a promising first twelve months as a Chelsea player, Brazilian youngster Kenedy has been taking nothing but backwards steps over the last twelve. A forgettable half-season at Watford was followed by a forgettable half-season at Chelsea, which was then followed by a rather memorable, but for all the wrong reasons, summer tour with the Blues.
Having been sent home from the tour and subsequently fined by the club, Kenedy is now set to head out on loan. According to the Daily Mirror, he will be heading north to join former Blues manager Rafael Benítez at newly-promoted side Newcastle United in a season-long loan deal.
[Mirror] Newcastle snap up Chelsea outcast Kenedy on season-long loan deal following Brazilian's social media cont… https://t.co/8oKgBhDhQq
— Football Rss (@PremierLeaque) August 9, 2017
The 21-year-old arrived at Chelsea from Brazilian club Fluminense in summer 2015 and instead of becoming another member of the loan brigade from the get-go, he was integrated into the first-team instead. Originally a right winger, he deputised as a left back/wing-back in his debut season at Chelsea under the guidance of José Mourinho and Guus Hiddink.
In his second season, he joined Watford on a one-year loan but did not complete the full term as he got a single 15-minute cameo for the Hornets in the first thee months. Kenedy officially returned to Chelsea in January, although he was already at Cobham in December, training with the first team. He made two appearances for the Blues to complete 109 total minutes of first-team football in the entire 2016-17 season.
Given the squad’s depth issues, Kenedy may have had an outside shot at earning a first-team spot for the season ahead were it not for his senselessness on social media during the pre-season tour in Asia. Now he will be joining Benítez at St. James’ Park, in hopes of putting his off the pitch mistakes behind him and proving that he can still be a valuable asset for Chelsea on the field.