Garang Kuol is officially off to Newcastle United. Just a week on from becoming the youngest player to debut for Australia since 17-year-old Harry Kewell, Kuol was formally unveiled as the latest member of the Toon after flying to the UK following the Socceroos’ 2-0 win in Auckland to seal the deal.
Signing a contract that, according to reports, will make the 18-year-old one of Australia’s highest-paid footballers, the attacker will complete his move to the English Premier League when the transfer window opens in January. Central Coast, who moved to sign him to a two-year deal in June, is expected to receive a transfer fee of close to half a million dollars for the talented youngster, as well as the promise of lucrative sell-on fees.
“It’s unreal,” Kuol said in a statement. “As a young boy in Australia, the Premier League is the main thing that everyone watches, but nobody thinks they’ll reach those heights. To be one of those people, to be in the position I am, it’s amazing.
“Now that I’ve signed for Newcastle, I want to train hard, play hard, hopefully, go to the World Cup and come back here.”
The announcement caps off a whirlwind six-month rise for Kuol, during which he has progressed from a fringe youth prospect at the Mariners seeking to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Alou, to the darling of the A-Leagues and a potential World Cup bolter. To date, he has four goals and an assist in seven appearances off the bench. He has not started a single game of senior professional football.
Even taking into account the limited sample size, Kuol represents one of the most exciting and naturally talented prospects produced by Australian football in years. Playing with a sense of freedom he also has an innate sense of timing and positioning not often seen emerging from the country’s developmental framework. At 17, he was among the A-League Men’s leaders in dribbles and entrances into the opposition penalty area when adjusted for his limited minutes.
In short, he makes stuff happen, a quality which will have him in the frame for Graham Arnold’s Qatar 2022 squad – should he be allowed to shine in the opening six weeks of the domestic season.
Nonetheless, the hype train may need some tempering. Kuol will not qualify for a work permit when he arrives in England and will thus need to be immediately loaned to a club on the continent, with Portugal mooted as the most likely landing spot.
At some point, he will need a first start at the senior level and work to develop both his game and fitness to the point where his devastating skill set will continue to impact defenders for the full 90 minutes. Of course, the harder one works the luckier one tends to get, and Kuol has the innate tools of a star. Australian football will watch him every step of the way.