After the Evening Standard reported yesterday that the club were investigating the possibility of signing Kenedy on a permanent basis, the Mirror have now added some more detail to the story.
It was always expected that Chelsea would want a lot more than the £6.3m they signed the player for back in 2015, but it seems we will have to pay £15m if we want the 22 year old to stay with us permanently.
Considering the impact he has had since his arrival, it looks like a deal worth making, but I think we should be patient before looking to secure his signature.
He has played six games for us so far, and I would like to see how he does over a longer period of time before we make any decision about his future.
His performance against the Saints was very impressive, and hopefully we continue to see similar displays between now and end of the season. If we do, hopefully we`ll be in pole position to snap him up.
Without having first refusal to sign him, we are vulnerable to other clubs looking to hijack the deal, but there are some good signs from the player himself that he would like a longer stay on Tyneside. Hopefully his experience of the atmosphere at St James` will firmly convince him that we are the club he wants to join in the summer.