The curious case of Garang Kuol

Newcastle United must box clever in the transfer market due to the shambolic, anticompetitive PSR rules instigated by the Premier League a mere seven days after the Saudi-led takeover of the club was completed. These rules necessitate that scouting and unearthing cheap, hidden gems or under-appreciated players is a massive part of the post takeover model – and one of the early poster boys for this method was Australian Garang Kuol.

Kuol signed a four-year deal with United on the 30 September 2022, for a fee of £300,000 plus add-ons. The then 18-year-old spent the remainder of the year with Central Coast Mariners before officially joining the club on 1 January 2023.

Initially there was a lot of excitement surrounding the move with Australian ‘soccer’ pundits raving about Kuol’s potential ability. His brother Alou, working as a pundit, coined the phrase ‘Garangski has landed’ after Kuol scored with a first-time effort on his debut.

That debut goal was followed by three more goals in his next six games, which helped secure the Mariners’ place in the A-League finals. He was then chosen to play in the A-League all-star game against Barcelona in May 2022 and signed his first professional deal a month later in June.

Following his signing with United in September he stayed with the Central Coast Mariners and scored two more goals and assisted another before he was called up to the ‘Socceroo’s’ squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Coming on as a sub against France on 22 November 2022 made him the youngest player to appear for Australia at a World Cup and the ninth overall.

Kuol had a glorious late chance to bag an equaliser for the Socceroo’s in their first knockout round match against Argentina however, his shot was saved brilliantly saved by Emiliano Martínez. Following that display there was genuine excitement that United may’ve bagged themselves a wonderkid, to borrow the Football Manager term, but things soon soured not long after Kuol arrived in England.

Immediate Difficulties - Part 1: Hearts

Just eleven days after signing for United, Kuol was shipped off on loan to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership – an excellent move on paper as they had three other Australians in their team that season.

Then Hearts manager, Robbie Neilson, said: ‘We're getting a player who is by no means the finished article but there is a lot of talent there. You don't get called up to and play in the World Cup for nothing.’

Kuol struggled for game time north of the border and his lack of experience (he’d only made 22 apps in total for Central Coast Mariners before joined United) began to show as the Hearts manager said in a pre-match press conference when he was asked why Kuol and another young loanee, Yuta Oda, weren’t playing more:

‘We just played a Scottish Cup tie on a Friday night on astroturf, it was bucketing down with rain, 200 miles an hour game and you can actually end up hindering young players like that, by putting them into those situations.

He [Yuta Oda] is a young kid, so there are certain games he will start and others when he will come on.

It’s about development…It’s the same with Garang Kuol.’

Ultimately, Kuol’s game time would be cut short by a change in manager and he would score just one goal in eight appearances for the Jambos, although it was a memorable one as he scored a 94th minute equaliser against Rangers in May 2023.

Immediate Difficulties- Part 2: Volendam

Interestingly, in a feature about Kuol in the Athletic from April 2024, Volendam scouts were said to be watching the player as far back as his time in Australia. So, when the opportunity arrived for them to sign the player, they jumped at the chance and as United were warming up with games in the United States, Kuol signed for the Eredivise team on 8 August 2023.

This loan started much more positively (for Kuol personally anyway) as he scored a beautiful curling effort from just outside the box in a 3-1 defeat against Fortuna Sittard. He then picked up an assist a few games later as he started the season well. 

Unfortunately, Kuol would again suffer at the behest of the football gods as another change in manager saw him phased out of the team at the expense of tactical pragmatism as Volendam fought against relegation that season.

What does the future hold?

Since moving to Newcastle, Kuol has played just 868 league minutes on loan, which totals less than ten full games, making it very difficult to ascertain what the future holds for the lad.

It almost felt like a sympathy pick when he travelled with the squad for the last season’s, end-of-season trip to Australia, in what was certainly nothing more than a PR move for one of Australia’s hottest footballing exports in years. Kuol also missed out on going out on loan this season as he was injured throughout the summer.

The Australian has sporadically turned out for United’s U21’s but it wasn’t until this month that he finally scored his first goal in Black and White against Southampton in Premier League 2 this past weekend. Following up on Tuesday, he scored his second United goal from the penalty spot in the young Magpies’ 4-2 win over Gateshead in the National League Cup.

Perhaps the youngster, who is still only 20-years-old, has done enough to put himself in the shop window for a third loan for the final six months of this season? Will anyone take a chance on him? Can half a season banging in goals for the U21’s get him a move for next season? Surely, with how high profile his move to Newcastle was, there are still clubs tracking the player who would be willing to take a chance on him? 

Like so much of his young career – there doesn’t appear to be a simple answer or a clear pathway in the curious case of Garang Kuol. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyXgD5zOad4