He is being hailed as one of the world’s most exciting young talents, but how did Garang Kuol end up playing for Australia at a World Cup and signing for mega-rich Newcastle United?
Born in Egypt to Sudanese parents who had fled their war-torn home a few years earlier, the 18-year-old attacking sensation has enjoyed a stunning rise with A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners under the guidance of ex-Sheffield United midfielder Nick Montgomery.
Now the Socceroos’ rising star looks set for a bright future at the most high-profile league in the world after joining Eddie Howe’s upwardly mobile Magpies this month.
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One of six brothers, Kuol moved to Australia with his family as a refugee and joined the Mariners’ impressive youth system, then headed up by Montgomery, in January 2021.
Key to the teenager’s development has been the influence of Montgomery, whose outstanding work in the Mariners’ youth ranks saw him promoted to first-team boss in July 2021.
“It has been an amazing journey for a young kid who we brought in at 16,” Montgomery, whose work at the low-budget Mariners has attracted admiring glances from a number of British clubs, told The Sportsman.
“Within 18 months Garang has been to a World Cup with Australia and signed for Newcastle United.
“It’s a bit of a fairytale really and I actually signed his elder brother Alou, who’s now playing in Germany with Stuttgart, in the same way.
“Alou was playing for Shepperton, which is a little club just outside of Melbourne.
“We brought Alou into the Mariners and he was similarly very raw and athletic but he didn’t really understand the game.
“We signed Alou for our Under-23s team and within 12 months he had broken into our first-team.
“He was top scorer in the A-League after 10 rounds – he was coming off the bench and scoring doubles – before Stuttgart bought him.
“When Alou joined us, he said ‘I’ve got a younger brother, he’s only 16 and he’s a different type of player to me but is probably even better’.
“At the time, I was head of the academy and coaching the Mariners’ Under-20s and Under-23s teams.
“I just said ‘let’s get Garang in’ and we flew him in from Melbourne.
“There are three big A-League clubs in Melbourne – Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Western United – and not one of them took Alou or Garang into their academy because they thought they were too raw.
“We brought Garang to trial at 16 years old and we could see the kid was electric.
“He didn’t really understand the game in terms of playing in a team.
“But my assistant Sergio Raimundo coached at Benfica, one of the best development clubs in the world, and oversaw the development of players like Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo at Manchester City.
“Sergio and I both saw Garang and said ‘if we can teach this kid to play in a team, he could be special’.”
Montgomery honed Garang’s skills before handing him his senior debut in December 2021.
Kuol scored within seven minutes of his introduction from the substitutes’ bench during a 6-0 FFA Cup victory against APIA Leichhardt.
As a 17-year-old, Kuol also scored on his A-League senior bow in April 2022 in a 5-0 triumph over Wellington Phoenix before going on to score four goals in his first seven league appearances.
He then was selected as part of the 2022 A-League All Stars team that took on Barcelona in front of over 70,000 spectators in Sydney last May.
Barca boss Xavi gushed about Kuol afterwards, saying: “It was a big surprise.
“He is very fast, he created many chances and we conceded two or three chances because of him.
“He’s a great player and has a great future. He's a talent.”
Newcastle struck a deal to sign Kuol last autumn before the player came on Australia’s radar ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
He'll now fly to Tyneside ahead of a January move to Newcastle ✍️⚫️⚪️
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In mid-September, he became the youngest player since Harry Kewell in 1996 to be called-up to the Socceroos squad.
His debut against New Zealand saw him become the sixth-youngest player to represent Australia.
Kuol helped Australia to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup and, at 18 years and 79 days, he became the youngest player to play in the knockout stages at a finals since Pelé in 1958.
Having moved to Newcastle, the teenager is now set for a loan move in the second half of this season with a move to the English Championship or Scottish Premier League on the cards.
Magpies boss Howe recently admitted: “It’s a possibility Garang could train with us for a little while.
“But I do think that for the player’s development, he needs to go and play.
“If possible, that would be at a very good level, with a good club and a good coach.”
Montgomery, who was shortlisted for the Motherwell job last year, will continue to watch his protégé’s progress with great interest.
The Leeds-born 41-year-old played for the Mariners between 2012 and 2017 before moving into coaching upon his retirement.
Montgomery added: “Australia got to the knockout stages of the World Cup and many of the players came from the A-League and are still actually playing there.
“The A-League doesn’t get the credit it deserves because it’s so far away from the rest of the world.
“I think with Australia’s progress in the World Cup came the realisation that the A-League is a high standard and produces players who can play at the highest level.
“Garang is a great example of that and obviously everyone at Central Coast Mariners is super proud of him.”
