Garang Kuol has put pen to paper on a lucrative multi-year deal with Newcastle United to complete his remarkable rise from the A-League to the richest club in the world’s biggest league in just six stunning months.
Kuol, 18, flew to England after making his thrilling Socceroos debut in Auckland on Sunday to complete a medical and formalise his switch from the Central Coast Mariners to the newly cashed up Premier League outfit, which will take effect when the transfer window re-opens in January. Contracts were signed overnight on Thursday, according to sources, with an official announcement from Newcastle believed to be imminent.
It will make Kuol one of the highest-paid Australian footballers in the world, on a salary that puts him up there with the richest in the AFL and NRL – despite having not even made a single start in his short career. Such is the building hype around the 18-year-old forward, who made his A-League debut for the Central Coast Mariners in April, and went on to score four goals in his first seven appearances as a substitute.
The Mariners will reportedly receive a transfer fee of $500,000 (about £300,000) from Newcastle, but with the promise of much more to come into the club’s coffers through sell-on clauses and other bonus triggers.
Last week, Kuol became the youngest Socceroo since Harry Kewell in 1996 when he came off the bench for Australia against New Zealand in their final friendly before the World Cup. Within minutes, he made an undeniable impact, surging up the right flank in a move that culminated in the penalty for the Socceroos’ second goal in a 2-1 win. Kuol did the same thing in a post-season friendly for the A-League All Stars against FC Barcelona, dazzling with a second-half cameo before swapping shirts with Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang and earning rich praise from Xavi.
Coach Graham Arnold, despite public attempts to play down the fanfare surrounding Kuol, will find it hard to justify leaving him out of his 26-man squad for Qatar, particularly given the lack of similar X-factor players within the Australian ranks.
Newcastle United fans show their support for the club’s Saudi takeover last year.Credit:Getty
“It would be unreal,” Kuol told Stan Sport FC this week when asked of his World Cup aspirations. “I remember Tim Cahill’s goal in 2014 against Netherlands. Me and my brother [Alou] were remaking that in our backyard, breaking windows.”
Kuol becomes only the second Australian player currently contracted to a Premier League, along with Fulham’s Tyrese Francois, who was also in the Socceroos’ most recent squad but did not play any minutes against New Zealand and was recently loaned out to a Croatian affiliate.
Kuol will not qualify for an automatic UK work permit, so is expected to be loaned out to another European club in January, with Portugal the most likely destination, according to sources. Consistent first-team opportunities are crucial for him to realise his precocious talents, which is why the selection of his loan club is so vital to Australia’s national interests.
Born in Egypt to South Sudanese refugee parents, Kuol grew up in a family of seven brothers in Shepparton, country Victoria, and came through the ranks at local NPL team Goulburn Valley Suns.
Garang Kuol will have plenty of new fans after signing with a Premier League club.Credit:Getty
Alou, 21, the second-eldest, enjoyed a similar journey with the Mariners, earning a transfer 12 months ago to German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, where he is in the mix for a debut after spending last season on loan at a lower-tier club. He has previously represented the Olyroos. Younger brothers Teng, 19, and Didi, 11, are also enrolled in the Mariners’ academy.
Kuol joins Newcastle at a fascinating moment in their 110-year history. A member of the Premier League in all bar three seasons since its foundation in 1992, the Magpies were bought last year by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund for £300 million – instantly making them the richest club in the world. They are expected to take on a similar trajectory as Manchester City following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi royal family, and part of that means beating rival clubs to the hottest young talent, like Kuol, who was recently named as one of the world’s top 250 talents born in 2000 or later by the CIES Football Observatory.
Newcastle’s interest in Kuol was first reported by the Herald, and they have fought off considerable interest from other big-name clubs to sign him, including Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart. Celtic were also linked with him, and while manager Ange Postecoglou played down any likelihood of a move, the former Socceroos boss – as an avid watcher of the A-League – has kept a close eye on Kuol’s progress.
“We love a next big thing, don’t we? Hopefully, he can handle that,” Postecoglou said.
“He’s a really exciting talent, an exciting young kid in terms of embracing the platform he’s got at the moment. Sometimes in football careers, it’s all about timing. It seems like he’s come to the fore at the right time. If he can keep progressing the way he is and get himself to a World Cup and make an impact there, who knows where he can go?”
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