OPINION
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez must put his complete trust in Jacob Murphy for his side’s upcoming games so he can swiftly axe Kenedy from his starting line-up without a second thought.
The 22-year-old Brazilian winger struggled against Nottingham Forest during the 3-1 loss to them on Wednesday and previously submitted an unbelievably woeful display against Cardiff City.
Kenedy, who earns £25,000-a-week at St James Park (Source: Spotrac), looked not at the race against Forest and it should see him axed for a few games in order to allow him to reflect on his poor performances.
The winger previously excelled at the Magpies last season when on loan and managed to rake up performances that saw him covered in plaudits but he can’t rely on past success to keep his place in the team.
While axing Kenedy should be an easy decision, given the other options Benitez has available to him then it’s not a simple choice to make.
Christian Atsu and Murphy are the obvious picks to take up Kenedy’s place on the left-flank for at least their side’s next game against Manchester City.
However both proved last season that their form is inconsistent as while both have the ability to cause their opponents’ nightmares they can also can be a liability for their side.
Benitez recently commented on Murphy and shared that he is improving which mean he will eventually become a better player for the Magpies.
“Jacob is a young player and he is not playing too many games, but in every training session we work on little things, and he is improving. He is improving every day and he will become a much better player. How long will it take to reach his peak? Still I think he needs a couple of years to reach his level,” the Spanish manager told the Chronicle.
These comments show that Benitez recognised the 23-year-old’s talent but that he has his doubts as his remarks are worded in such way that he implies he thinks he needs to improve to be good enough for the first-team.
Murphy looked good when he replaced Kenedy, who was unavailable due to conditions of his loan, in the side for the game against Chelsea but Benitez must trust him completely in order to confidently be ably to swiftly axe the Brazilian from his team.
The 23-year-old winger should get the nod over Atsu as the Ghanaian winger has already struggled against Spurs this season whereas Murphy has at least shown signs of improvement.
This all means that Benitez must now put his complete faith in Murphy despite him being inconsistent due to his age as it was allow him to confidently and boldly axe Kenedy.
