OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Kenedy’s performances have been so bad this season that he has fallen down the pecking order somewhat at St James’ Park.
His recent injury no doubt hampered his chances of getting into the first team, but it is safe to say that his woeful displays were the main reason why the manager opted to drop him to the bench previously.
This is why the Spaniard’s recent stance on the immediate future of Kenedy is actually quite bizarre.
According to the Chronicle, Benitez has no intention of terminating the £25,000-a-week [Spotrac] liability’s loan deal early – despite him being one of the worst players currently at the club.
“Yes. It’s not just them. You have to have the people around you to help you [Kenedy and Jacob Murphy] play,” he said when asked whether Kenedy is staying.
“Everybody has to improve, for sure, we have to be better and we will try to be better. We have to maximise what we have.”
This is largely due to the fact that the Magpies have not brought anybody in during this current transfer window, but it is also likely that Benitez does not want to get rid of him just yet so that he is not low on midfield numbers.
While this does make sense a bit, the fact that Kenedy has been abysmal lately should outweigh everything else.
The manager needs to make an sharp U-turn regarding the future of Kenedy in the next few days, as he is just going to hamper the team’s efforts of staying up this season.
Kenedy needs to pack his bags as soon as possible, as he no doubt recognises himself that he has not been up to standard recently – a shadow of the player who signed on loan for Newcastle last January.
Newcastle must cut him out while they still have the chance to, even if it does mean that they are low on numbers.
Benitez no doubt wants all hands on deck when it comes to survival, but keeping Kenedy on is just going to waste the club’s time as well as his own.
He has not shown signs of improvement in the last few months, and he is unlikely to if his performance against Watford on Saturday was anything to go by.