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Kenedy has ‘huge’ chance to impress after Chelsea loan recall but Thomas Tuchel not ruling out transfers

Kenedy has ‘huge’ chance to impress after Chelsea loan recall but Thomas Tuchel not ruling out transfers

Thomas Tuchel is ready to give Kenedy the chance to revive his Chelsea career after the Brazilian was recalled from loan this week.

But the German is not ruling out January signings to cover Ben Chilwell, who has been lost for the season, and potentially Reece James, who is out with a hamstring injury.

Kenedy has been recalled from Flamengo and could still go out on loan again, but Tuchel will look at him as he assesses how to cover the absence of Chilwell, who will not play again this term after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage.

The Chelsea manager said: “Kenedy is back and I’m very happy about it so this is huge. A huge opportunity for him to make his mark at this club and in this team.

“We will try now from today on to push and support him as good as we can.”

But addressing the issue at left wing-back, which has seen Chelsea try to recall Emerson Palmieri from loan at Lyon, Tuchel added: “We cannot say Kenedy is the solution. He can be the solution, but the situation has not changed.

“We have long-term injuries at wing-back, we suffered a lot. We suffered in midfield from Covid and injuries. Now our midfielders are more or less coming back, we suffer a lot with our central defenders.

“Nothing has changed, but it needs to make sense, to be possible, make sense on a high level and also in quality, personality.

“We have a look into the market, nothing has changed. We have all options, also the option to say no.”

Kenedy has a chance to impress Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea recalled him from his loan spell (Getty Images)
Kenedy has a chance to impress Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea recalled him from his loan spell (Getty Images)

Kenedy joined Chelsea from Fluminense in 2015, but has been sent on a number of loans during that time, with little hope of establishing himself at the club.

Meanwhile, Tuchel says there are no plans to send Ruben Loftus-Cheek out on loan.

“We haven’t talked about it, he has a lot of game time I would say, if you look at last year and this season,” he said.

“I think he has a lot of game time and a lot to fight for here, in my personal opinion.”