Garang Kuol put pen to paper on a loan deal until the end of the season from English cracks Newcastle United to cinch Scottish Premiership club Hearts and declared: “I’m happy to be here.”
The talented, 5ft 9in tall, teenager teams up with Australian World Cup squad members Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson and Cammy Devlin and he can’t wait to make his debut for the Capital club.
The highly-rated 18-year-old officially joined Newcastle from New South Wales-based Central Coast Mariners, who compete in the A-League, on New Year’s Day, and the player opted for Edinburgh after visiting last week.
Kuol told Hearts TV that the Gorgie club are a great team, with great fans, a great stadium, and a great history.
Egypt-born Kuol, who was raised in Australia to South Sudanese parents, believes Hearts have great ambitions and said: “I played with Kye (Rowles) at the Mariners, he was one of the senior players at the time, but he is a great guy and someone who has helped me a lot.
“As for Cammy (Devlin), I have known him since about September and we just struck up a connection straight away. I met all the other lads on Thursday and all they seem great lads.”
Kuol has played three games for the Australian under-20 side and three for the senior squad after arriving in the country with his family as refugees and they settled in Victoria.
His older brother, Alou, is also a professional footballer and Kuol was the youngest player ever selected for Australia for a FIFA World Cup and he went on to register more markers during the tournament.
He came on as a substitute in the second half of Australia’s defeat by France in their opening World Cup clash in Qatar making him the youngest player ever to appear for the Socceroos in the World Cup.
And he also appeared off the bench in the Aussie side’s round of 16 defeat to Argentina, making him the youngest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup knockout match since the late Pele in the 1958 World Cup.
He believes he is a positive player who works hard and he added: “I can’t wait to score in front of these fans at Tynecastle.”
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