Newcastle have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old Garang Kuol from Central Coast Mariners, with the Australian forward joining the club in January.
“It’s unreal. As a young boy in Australia, the Premier League is the main thing that everyone watches but nobody actually thinks they’ll reach those heights,” said Kuol.
“To be one of those people, to be in the position I am, it’s amazing.”
Newcastle reportedly paid an initial £300,000 before add-on clauses.
Kuol earned his first Australia cap last week becoming the youngest player to represent his country since former Leeds and Liverpool Harry Kewell in 1996.
Kuol, who only signed his first professional deal in June, has emerged as a late bolter for the Socceroos’ Qatar 2022 squad after four goals in his seven substitute appearances for the Mariners.
He also impressed in a cameo in a post-season friendly against Barcelona, earning praise from opposition manager Xavi.
“Now that I’ve signed for Newcastle, I want to train hard, play hard, hopefully go to the World Cup and come back here,” Kuol added.
Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth said that Kuol would be allowed time to develop on Tyneside.
“Garang is a very promising young talent,” he said.
“Our philosophy is to invest in our Academy and in exciting young players for the future, as well as in players required to make an immediate impact in the first team.”
Born in Egypt, Kuol and his family arrived in the country as refugees from South Sudan. His elder brother Alou moved from the Mariners to German side Stuttgart in 2021.
- Our coverage of Newcastle United is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
- Everything Newcastle – go straight to all the best content
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/QD4IKSQCRVJMTFLZ3GC4Y2YLQU.jpg)