Hearts bid to woo ‘wonderkid’ on loan from Newcastle

Australian forward Garang Kuol has caught the eye of Hearts and the player tagged as a ‘wonderkid’ in the media has visited the club’s training base at Riccarton ahead of a possible loan move.

Jambos manager Robbie Neilson (pictured) stressed that no deal has been struck yet with the 18-year-old who was born in Egypt but he confirmed there is interest.

Other clubs in Scotland and the English Championship are also chasing the 5ft 9in tall player, a point acknowledged by Neilson during his press conference at The Oriam ahead of Saturday’s trip to St Mirren in the cinch Scottish Premiership.

Kuol officially joined the Tyneside team from Central Coast Mariners on January 1 after signing for Newcastle last September, but Geordies boss Eddie Howe wants him to gain game experience with a good club and a good coach and is therefore keen to secure a loan deal.

That’s why he visited Edinburgh and the player, who featured as a substitute for the Socceroos in their World Cup opener against France and then against Argentina in the round of 16 in Quatar, making him the youngest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup knockout match since Pele at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

If he joined Hearts the teenager would join three other members of the Aussie squad, Kye Rowles, who also played for Central Coast Mariners before moving to Hearts, Nathanial Atkinson and Cammy Devlin.

Kuol has made nine appearances in the A-League and featured in 22 senior games in his short career and posted a picture of Edinburgh on his social media page.

Newcastle are currently in third spot in the Premier League with 35 points, four behind Manchester City and nine adrift of leaders Arsenal, and it is unlikely that Kuol will feature in Howe’s first time soon, so a loan spell would suit and Neilson told the media and Hearts TV: “He’s a great prospect. With a number potential suitors, we’ll wait and see where it goes.”

It would, however, be a great coup if Kuol ended up at Hearts, but manager Neilson’s immediate attention is the trip along the M8 to fifth-placed St Mirren, an important fixture for the Jambos who have performed well since the World Cup break and emerged from Monday’s clash with Capital rivals Hibs with a 3-0 scoreline.

The Men in Maroon have climbed into third position in the table, but Neilson stressed: “Nobody is getting carried away. We have a game on Saturday and we need to win it. We’re going to a difficult place against a team which is doing really well. We just need to keep winning.”