Graham Arnold is keen to bring Garang Kuol back into the Australia fold after what he describes as a “tough” start at Hearts.
The Socceroos wonderkid made a life changing move to Newcastle United from Central Coast mariners in January, and the Magpies sent him on loan to Tynecastle to gain some experience of British football until the end of the season. He picked the Jambos thanks to the influence of Robbie Neilson and Australia teammates Kye Rowles, Cammy Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson.
However, Kuol has made just five appearances in maroon with four of them coming as a sub. Neilson has admitted that it will take him some time to get up to speed in the Premiership having come from the A League. Arnold is of a similar opinion, and reckons a recall to the national team for their “Welcome Home” matches against Ecuador in Sydney and Melbourne later this month.
“Garang, at this moment, I think it's good for him to come back and be in camp and be around the boys, and we pick up his energy a little bit,' Arnold said.
“He's had a bit of a tough start at Hearts. The Scottish game, and the way that it's played, is completely different to Australia, so it's 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's a learning process for Garang and making sure that he can deal with it and we can be here to help him deal with it.
“I could either let him go with the (Australian) under 23s, or bring him here with us, because the under 23s will have 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.”
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