Newcastle United youngster Garang Kuol has held talks with Scottish Premiership side Hearts as he prepares to leave Tyneside on loan. The 18-year-old Aussie sensation officially joined the Magpies on January 1 after saying goodbye to Central Coast Mariners, with Eddie Howe wasting no time finding him a switch elsewhere.
Kuol has been courted by a number of Championship and Scottish sides in recent days but dropped a huge hint he was heading to Edinburgh on Thursday morning by posting a photo of the city on his Instagram story.
Hours later the forward was spotted arriving at Hearts' Oriam training base for a tour of the club's facilities. Kuol was flanked by his entourage and Newcastle loan chief Shola Ameobi as he entered the premises.
READ MORE: Newcastle United transfer news LIVE: Ivan Fresneda latest and Garang Kuol drops loan hint
Upon joining Hearts, Kuol will link up with three Australian national side team-mates in the form of Nathaniel Atkinson, Cammy Devlin and Kye Rowles. The Scottish side also tried and failed to loan Elliot Anderson from Newcastle earlier this season.
Speaking out on Kuol's future this week, Howe admitted he wanted the teenager to earn regular minutes elsewhere. "It's a possibility Garang could train with us for a little while," he told reporters.
“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. That's not a decision that's been made currently, so we'll have to assess what all of our options are."
Kuol appeared at the World Cup last month and subsequently earned a UK work permit in the process. These games, on top of nine appearances in the A-League since signing for Newcastle in September, mean the player has now featured in 22 first team games in his career.
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