Hearts win race for Australian prodigy Garang Kuol on loan from Newcastle

Newcastle United forward Garang Kuol is ready to join Hearts on loan in January, just days after signing for the Premier League club.

Newcastle signed the 18-year-old striker from Central Coast Mariners for £290,000 in September but Kuol didn’t complete the Premier League move until New Year’s Day.

However, Magpies manager Eddie Howe made it clear last week that he wanted the Australian to get regular football ahead of his bid for his spot at St James’ Park.

Hearts have won the race to sign Australian prodigy Garang Kuol on loan from Newcastle

Kuol attracted the interest of a number of Championship clubs, including Reading, but Hearts – who have fellow Australians Kye Rowles, Cam Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson on their books – appear to have won the race for the teenager.

Kuol and his representatives met Hearts sporting director Joe Savage last week and were given a tour of the club’s training facilities in Oriam as the first team prepared for Saturday’s game against St Mirren.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson hailed the young Australian as a “huge prospect” and admitted he hoped to welcome him to Tynecastle in January.

“He’s a player we’re interested in, so he came up to have a look around with his agent,” he told reporters.

Kuol signed Newcastle in September last year and only completed his move in January

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said he wanted the 18-year-old to play football regularly

“He has a number of clubs that are very interested in him. He’s a huge prospect. He’s someone we’ve known for a long time because he’s from the same team as Kye Rowles.

“The opportunity came up to speak to him, so we brought him up and we’ll see where it goes. […]

“We’d love to bring him here but we just have to wait and see because he’s an 18-year-old who played at the World Cup so I’m sure there will be a lot of applicants.

“He’s an attacking player, he’s fast, he scores goals, he takes on people. A very exciting player.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson hailed Kuol as a “huge prospect” last week.

Last week Howe confirmed Kuol was likely to be loaned out in January to continue developing before eventually moving permanently to the St.

“I think for the development of the player, he has to go and play,” he said.

“If possible, that would be at a very good level, with a good club and a good coach.

The 18-year-old was surprisingly included in Australia’s World Cup squad

Kuol played his junior football for the Goulburn Valley Suns in Victoria before being acquired by the Mariners Academy in January 2021.

He made his senior debut for the Mariners last year, scoring and scoring within seven minutes of his introduction four goals in his first seven appearances in his first season in the A-League

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold named the youngster to his World Cup and Kuol came within inches of a last-minute equalizer in Australia’s 2-1 defeat by eventual world champions Argentina in the last 16.