Scottish Premiership side, Hearts have been the first to publicly declare an interest in taking Newcastle’s Aussie sensation, Garang Kuol on loan.
The 18-year-old arrived in the UK yesterday and was in attendance as Newcastle drew 0-0 with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
STV have reported on Hearts’ interest in Kuol, saying “Newcastle are willing to let the player move on loan but it is believed Robbie Neilson will face competition from the English Championship to secure his signature.
Kuol’s international teammates Kye Rowes, Nathanial Atkinson and Cameron Devlin all play for Hearts.”
Fans are split on whether Kuol should be kept at Newcastle now that his work permit has been approved, or whether he should go out on loan in order to get more first-team experience.
It’s unlikely that Kuol would get regular game time in the first-team were he to stay on Tyneside, although with two cup ties back-to-back as our next games, there are many who would like to see him used in those matches so we can get a look at him in the black and white and then make an assessment after that.
It does bring up the same question as the Dubravka debacle on whether the three clubs in a season rule would apply and thus render any sort of deal impossible.
I’m personally excited to see what Kuol could do in our set-up, but at the same time, I’d rather we developed him properly and made sure he was 100% ready when his time comes.