Garang Kuol concerns emerge - Another Shola Ameobi mistake or reality check for Aussie star?
Newcastle youngster Garang Kuol is struggling for game time at Hearts, despite being labelled as one of the most promising players in the world.
We signed the 18-year-old back in January - almost immediately after his World Cup campaign with Australia - and were quick to find him a loan spell that would hopefully help him settle in and become accustomed to senior football.
However, the forward has started just once for the Scottish club, with five of his six appearances coming from the bench. He's played just 164 minutes of SPL football since arriving at Tynecastle and has even been played out of position at times.
Hearts fans were baffled to see him start in a midfield role in a 3-0 defeat to Rangers last month, where he was hooked at half time after Robbie Neilson's bizarre selection backfired. They face a trip to Celtic tonight, so it'll be interesting to see if the Aussie features.
While this is severely disappointing, it’s not the first time a loan spell hasn't gone to plan. It's early days - he is only 18 and wasn't starting regularly in the A-League prior to his January move - but questions could soon be asked about loan coordinator Shola Ameobi if this becomes the latest loan switch that doesn't work out.
Who knows, maybe Kuol still has a lot to learn about the physical an tactical side of the game. Either way, he's an exciting talent, I just hope his game time starts to improve in Scotland. If not, it feels vital his next loan move - likely this summer - is the right one for his development at senior level.
Here's a clip of him almost scoring a lovely goal during his 11-minute cameo in Saturday's 3-0 win over St. Johnstone:
Here's what Aussie boss Graham Arnold has had to say about his situation, admitting he's had a "tough start" at Hearts:
“Garang Kuol, at this moment [in time]. I think it is good for him to come back and be in camp [with the Australia national squad], be around the boys, and we pick up his energy a little bit.
“He has had a bit of a tough start at Hearts.
“The Scottish game, the way it is played, is completely different to Australia.
“So it is going to take a little bit of time for him to settle in with that and obviously learn that.
“I know the expectations of the kid are always very, very high, and going to Hearts I can imagine that was exactly the same.
“So it is a learning process for Garang and making sure that he can deal with it, we can be here to help him deal with it.
“I could either let him go with the Under-23s, or bring him here with us, because the Under-23s will have a camp at the same time in Italy.
“For him to come back to us and again to be part of the Socceroos squad that did well at the World Cup, and give him one of the first chances, is important for him as well.”
