Rafa’s Kenedy fear

RAFA BENITEZ thinks Kenedy may have priced himself out of a permanent move to Newcastle because he has played so well. The manager revealed yesterday he will make a call to Chelsea tomorrow night to begin negotiations if Newcastle guarantee their Premier League status by beating Arsenal. Benitez is determined to keep the 22-year-old at St James’ Park next season and wants to build his team around the talented Brazilian, who has sparked Newcastle’s climb from 18th to 10th since his arrival on loan in January. Benitez said: ‘Yes, there is a worry the value may go up but if you say, “Do I want him to score goals and the value will go up?” Yes, I want him to score goals. The main thing for now is to get to 40 points and then speak to Chelsea.’ Benitez had hoped to strike a deal for around £10million. Kenedy has been linked with Bayern Munich this week and Benitez added: ‘He has the level to play in a top team but he is in a top side already! If we can get two or three with experience or more quality, he will be better.’ Newcastle tried to include an option-to-buy clause in the loan deal but Chelsea were reluctant, so the fee is yet to be set.