Newcastle, Chelsea in talks over Kenedy — reports

Kenedy may be back at Cobham to start preparations for the new season, but his future may not lie at Chelsea.

As reported by the Evening Standard’s Simon Johnson yesterday, Chelsea are in serious talks with Newcastle to sell the 22-year-old, either this summer or next, for a fee of around £20 million, which isn’t exactly outstanding in today’s market but still would represent a record fee for the notorious tight-fisted Magpies.

As observed by Johnson, whether Chelsea loan-to-sell Kenedy or sell straight away, he appears to not be in the club’s plans regardless of what any manager might want to do. And that’s unfortunate, especially if he leaves without giving Sarri the chance to assess the situation.

That said, Chelsea appear willing to “play hardball” over the quoted fee, regardless of Kenedy’s affections for Newcastle and manager Rafael Benitez), so perhaps Kenedy’s non-Chelsea future isn’t quite set in stone just yet.

While I’d want to see Kenedy given a chance during preseason before being shipped out to Newcastle or wherever — he is, at the moment, our only left-footed winger — if we really do choose to sell him, let’s at least include a buyback clause, shall we?