Jonjoe Kenny’s future at Everton has been uncertain all summer. The 23-year-old spent last season on loan at Schalke 04 and impressed enough for the Bundesliga outfit to open talks over a permanent deal.
Everton considered letting Kenny go and had a number of players on their list of potential replacements, but Schalke haven’t made any progress for months.
Sport 1 say chief Jochen Schneider wants to loan to right-back for another season, but Everton have stated unequivocally that they’ll have to sign Kenny permanently. He won’t be granted another temporary stint away.
What’s the latest on talks?
Schalke want Kenny on loan for another season and the 23-year-old was previously open to returning to Germany as he hadn’t held talks with Carlo Ancelotti over his future.
Kenny has a market value of £8.55m with Transfermarkt and a value of €10m-€15m (£9.24m-£13.86m) with CIES Football Observatory, but Sport 1 say we will only consider offers of £16.6m.
The last of his 40 Everton appearances came in March 2019, so few could blame him for wanting to leave. Seamus Coleman has been ahead of him at right-back for so many years, but that could change this season.
Ancelotti has spoken positively about Kenny which could mean there’s a place for him in the first-team. Coleman turns 32 in October and is in the eve of his career, so we’ll need to line up his successor.
And if Schalke can’t match Kenny’s asking price, he could be staying at Goodison.
Is he worth keeping?
We’ve been linked with Atletico Madrid’s Santiago Arias, Paris Saint-Germain’s Colin Dagba, Real Betis’ Emerson, FC Porto’s Jesus Corona, Torino’s Ola Aina, Olympique Marseille’s Bouna Sarr and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot among others, but I believe we’re better off keeping Kenny.
He’s impressed in Germany and could flourish back in England if given more opportunities, so it may be time for Ancelotti to gamble on him. Coleman and Kenny don’t compare to the right-backs playing for the Premier League’s big-six, but we could do a lot worse than the pair.
Schalke’s loss could be our gain this season.
In other news, we’re battling Wolves and West Ham for Pepe