Robert Kenedy Nunes Nascimento, commonly known as Kenedy, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for English club Chelsea. He made his professional debut aged 17 for Fluminense, scoring five goals in 40 official games before a £6.3 million move to Chelsea in 2015. Kenedy has represented Brazil at under-17 and under-20 level.
Kenedy made his professional debut on 28 July 2013 in a 2–0 Série A defeat at Grêmio, replacing Wagner for the final nine minutes. On 24 May 2014, he scored his first professional goal, the only one in an away win over Esporte Clube Bahia. He netted his second goal for the club in September, a late equaliser against Cruzeiro. In March 2015, Kenedy scored in three home victories for Flu in the year'sCampeonato Carioca. On 18 April, in the tournament's semi-final, he missed their first attempt as they lost 9–8 in a penalty shootout to Botafogo.
Chelsea
2015–16 season
On 26 June 2015, Fluminense announced that Kenedy had been sold to an unnamed club for a fee around the region of £6.3 million. It was later confirmed that Kenedy was on trial at Chelsea, where he played in a pre-season match against Barcelona, after Kenedy was given permission from Fluminense to play in the game as he had not yet been formally signed. On 22 August 2015, Chelsea completed the transfer. A week later, Kenedy made his debut against Crystal Palace, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for César Azpilicueta in a 2–1 home defeat. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 September in the third round of the League Cup at Walsall, also assisting compatriot Ramires in the 4–1 victory; his first league goal was the following 1 March, a 39th-second effort in a 2–1 win at Norwich City that was the fastest goal of the season.
On 30 August 2016, Kenedy joined Watford on a season-long loan after having a bid accepted from Chelsea. On 26 September, he made his only appearance for the Hornets in a 2–0 away defeat against Burnley, replacing Roberto Pereyra with 15 minutes remaining. After struggling with injuries, manager Walter Mazzarri, confirmed that Kenedy had returned to Chelsea on 12 December after a disappointing loan spell.
2016–17 season
After being recalled by Chelsea from his loan spell with Watford, Kenedy made his return for the Blues in their 4–0 home victory over Brentford in their FA Cup fourth round tie. Retaining his number 16 jersey, Kenedy replaced César Azpilicueta with just under twenty minutes remaining. He made his first start under Conte against Watford on 15 May 2017.
During a pre-season tour of China, Kenedy caused controversy by posting two videos on social media which were described as "distasteful" towards the country. During a subsequent match on the tour against Arsenal, he was heckled by angry fans. As a result, Kenedy was sent back to England for damaging relationships with the Asian fan base. Both Kenedy and Chelsea later issued apologies over the incident and the club stated that the player had been "strongly reprimanded and disciplined". Following the incident, Chinese media outlets were ordered to withdraw stories related to Chelsea from homepages and apps and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there was a remote possibility of a ban for the club. In August, a loan to Newcastle United fell through on transfer deadline day. On 20 September 2017, Kenedy made his first appearance since the incident during pre-season when he started against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup. He scored the opener in a 5–1 victory.
Loans to Newcastle United
On 23 January 2018, Kenedy joined Newcastle United on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. Kenedy impressed on his Newcastle debut, creating Jamaal Lascelles opener from a corner kick in a 1–1 draw with Burnley. On 10 March, Kenedy won the Man of the Match award after scoring a brace in Newcastle's 3–0 win against Southampton. Kenedy provided an assist for Ayoze Perez's 80th minute winner in Newcastle's 1–0 victory against Huddersfield on 31 March. He returned to Tyneside on loan for the 2018–19 season. Kenedy had a particularly poor match in a goalless draw at Cardiff City on 18 August, he avoided a red card for a kick at Víctor Camarasa, became the first player since 2010 to play a full Premier League first half without completing a pass and his penalty in added time to win the game was saved by Neil Etheridge. On 6 October, Kenedy scored his first goal of the season in a 3-2 loss at Manchester United.
An NBC Sports article by Nicholas Mendola in 2018 credited Kenedy's versatility, stating "The Brazilian left-sided man can play virtually any field position besides center back".
