Garang Kuol’s current teammate Jason Cummings expects the wonderkid to realise his potential on Tyneside. Newcastle United will complete a move for the 18-year-old in January before loaning him back to his current club Central Coast Mariners.
The Magpies stumped up around £300,000 to sign the highly-rated youngster, fending off interest from La Liga giants Barcelona. It did not take long for Kuol to endear himself to his new fanbase, either, as he was snapped posing for pictures with away supporters during last weekend’s 4-1 win against Fulham.
Fans are excited about his potential as Dan Ashworth continues to bolster Newcastle’s academy ranks. Kuol is the fifth youth player to arrive at the club since the sporting director’s appointment in June.
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Speaking ahead of the A-League’s opening weekend, Cummings gave a positive appraisal of his Mariners teammate. He said: "He's (Kuol) getting hyped up everywhere. He's a good lad. Away from football as well, he's just a normal kid. He's a good lad and he's humble.
“With all this hype and with all the talk about him going to the Premier League, he keeps his feet on the ground. He doesn't let it get to him, he's taking everything in his stride.
"Everyone can see how good a player he is, even when he comes on for like 20 minutes, you can see glimpses and he's a world-class player. He's only 18 so he's got a bright future."
Cummings refrained from offering the youngster deep advice but did offer Newcastle a clue on how to get the best out of him.
"It used to be me,” he added. “So I'll maybe tell him that - say ‘it doesn't last forever son, so enjoy it while it lasts.’
“But I feel like giving advice to Garang wouldn't be worth it. He's the type of guy and he's the type of player where, if you try to teach him too much or tell him what to do, it's just going to hinder him.
"You need to just let him be free, let him enjoy himself, let him enjoy his football and (say) 'just do what you want, man. Go on the pitch and just do what you normally do.’ But he's taking everything in his stride, he's not letting it affect him. So he's pretty golden.”
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