Chelsea recall Kenedy from Flamengo loan — reports

Chelsea winger Kenedy is expected to be on the plane back to London tonight, according to reports emerging out of Brazil today, with the Blues cutting short the 25-year-old’s loan at Flamengo at the halfway point.

Kenedy has not impressed too much in the previous six months, but was reportedly hoping to stay and hit the ground running in the state championships after a full preseason at the club.

However, it sounds like Flamengo were not intending to make Kenedy’s stay permanent, which has prompted Chelsea to exercise our recall clause. While some reports claim this was a “special request” from Tuchel, it’s much more likely that we have another destination in mind. Shakhtar Donetsk were recently linked, for example.

While Kenedy’s mostly a winger, we might remember him deputizing at left (wing-)back before under both José Mourinho and Antonio Conte, impressing with his physicality as well as his skills — though obviously not nearly enough to carve out a meaningful career at the Bridge with just 27 appearances in total to his name after joining from Fluminense in 2015.

However, with Chelsea running into difficulties in getting Emerson back, maybe Kenedy is our “Plan B”? Surely not...