Chelsea add winger Kenedy to UEFA Champions League squad for the knockout stages.
According to The Daily Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath on Twitter, Chelsea have received an enquiry from Leeds United about their winger Kenedy ahead of Monday’s deadline for the winter transfer window.
Despite only just having returned to Chelsea, our Premier League rivals have sought out a possible move for the winger. Having missed out on Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino in recent days, they look to have identified Kenedy as a player who has a similar profile to the Reds’ Japanese star.
The player only recently moved back to London this month, after the Blues cut short his loan deal with Flamengo. Kenedy was expected to stay with the Brazilian side till the end of the season until a surprising recall brought him back to Stamford Bridge in January.
Kenedy is a wide man who can play anywhere on the left flank, either in attack or in defence. Despite being a winger by trade, Chelsea have often used him as a wing-back when they have required support at the back as well as width on the flanks.
With Blues defender Ben Chilwell being ruled out of the season due to injury, Kenedy has been recalled from his loan spell in Brazil to cover the Englishman for the remainder of the campaign. However, head coach Thomas Tuchel has still not used Kenedy in a leading role on the left.
Although a deal with Chelsea has not progressed, Leeds could be too late with their approach to sign Kenedy. Tuchel has hinted that the player could prove useful in the second half of the season and is keen on keeping him at Stamford Bridge until the end of the campaign.
Leeds have currently been relying on winger Raphinha to push them further in the Premier League, but the onus on the Brazilian star may be too much to provide the goals and creativity for the side single-handedly. The Elland Road outfit is struggling this season, languishing in the bottom half of the table.
Their failed attempts to get Minamino in January will have come as a blow, which explains their last-ditch effort to lure Kenedy to Yorkshire. However, it may be way too late to sign the Brazilian now, a day out from the transfer window deadline.
The decision to sign Kenedy is a strange one from a Leeds perspective, with the winger not being the most creative outlet in the Premier League nor having the most experience in the top-flight. If Leeds are looking to climb up the table and finish strongly, then the Brazilian is not an ideal option to target this month.
Tuchel seems to be keen on holding onto the player till the end of the season, with cover on the left flank a significant concern amidst Chelsea’s busy schedule. We are yet to see much of the winger so far, but he could be in line to make a few appearances later on as Tuchel looks to rotate his squad.
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