Newcastle United hope to complete a deal for Central Coast Mariners wonderkid Garang Kuol - but the Magpies may have to be creative to overcome potential work permit issues.
Signing players from overseas is more complicated for English clubs post- Brexit because new arrivals have to secure a certain number of governing body endorsement (GBE) points to obtain a work permit. The rules are now so strict that even Justin Kluivert was refused a work permit when Fulham attempted to sign the former Netherlands international from Roma earlier this summer because he had not played enough recent games for the Serie A giants.
A range of factors are assessed in this points-based system, including the quality of the league the new signing is coming from, how many caps they have and the domestic minutes they have played. With that in mind, in theory, Kuol would face a battle as it stands to pick up the 15 points required for an automatic GBE when the youngster has yet to start a competitive game for club or country and has only played 145 minutes in a league that is not even listed in the top five bands.
