Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez stresses importance of Kenedy and Martin Dubravka

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Newcastle United are still looking for their first win of the season after what has been a poor start.

Rafael Benitez has told the Chronicle that Martin Dubravka and Kenedy were the reason why he claimed Newcastle United’s squad was stronger this time around than last year.

Newcastle lost Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dwight Gayle over the summer, and did not exactly impress with the business that they did throughout the transfer window.

However, Benitez claimed before the campaign started that Newcastle had improved.

And the Spanish boss claims that the reason behind that was because he was able to bring in both Kenedy and Martin Dubravka from the start of the season.

“Why I said we were better this year in terms of squad is because Dubravka and Kenedy were here from the start of the season, whereas last year they were not here,” Benitez said.

Dubravka and Kenedy both arrived at Newcastle in January last season, and played important roles in helping the side improve.

Dubravka has also been impressive this time around, but Kenedy has not been such a dynamic force going forward.

Newcastle are still looking for their first win of the season, after what has been a disastrous start.

Benitez’s side were unable to get past Southampton at the weekend, after drawing 0-0 at St. Mary’s.