Eddie Howe believes Newcastle United have signed a ‘good finisher’ in Garang Kuol, but believes patience needs to be shown.
The Magpies confirmed a deal for Kuol on Friday morning. The 18-year-old has signed a multi-year deal at St James’ Park, costing £300,000 from Central Coast Mariners.
He will officially join the club on January 1st 2023, and is likely to go straight out on loan. It has been reported that Portugal is his most likely destination.
Newcastle beat some big clubs to sign the Australia international, with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund also interested. Dan Ashworth deserves a lot of praise for bringing Kuol to Tyneside, and he will hopefully go on to become a star in black and white.
There is a lot of buzz around Kuol’s transfer to Newcastle, and Howe sounds very enthused by the youngster.
Eddie Howe on Garang Kuol’s arrival
Ahead of the game against Fulham, Howe was asked for his opinion on the news that Garang Kuol will join Newcastle in January.
“He’s a young player of huge potential,” he said.
“It shows where the club wants to go in terms of signing young players and trying to develop them in our system for them to be Premier League players in the future.
“He’s had a dramatic rise and he’s in a position that excites everybody but there needs to be some patience shown. We need to look after him and he’ll go out on loan to learn and develop behind the scenes and hopefully when he comes here he can play a part in our future.
“He’s very sharp, agile, quick, a good finisher. He’s got a lot of very positive ingredients now that are going to need to be nurtured and developed in the next couple of years to get him to the required level for the Premier League.”
Howe will be excited to work with Newcastle’s newest signing
Based on Howe’s assessment of Kuol, it appears that the Newcastle manager is very excited to work with him. He has all the tools you would want from a young forward – he’s quick and agile. And most importantly he can finish.
That is a huge quality to have. Having that composure to find the net is what could make Kuol a star for Newcastle.
However, Howe has called for patience, and he is right to do so. Kuol has burst onto the scene in a big way over the past few months. But in reality he hasn’t even started a competitive game yet.
He clearly has a lot of potential, which is why he needs to be nurtured. Newcastle can’t just throw him in at the deep end and expect results. They need to help his development and give him every opportunity to be a success.
Given Ashworth’s reputation as Sporting Director, Toon fans should be very confident that will happen.
Kuol will officially become a Magpie in three months. But he is a talent for the future. Hopefully he is ready to play for the first-team in a few years time and Howe is still around to work with him.
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