Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is hopeful that young forward Garang Kuol will be loaned out next season to gain further experience and development.
The Magpies are currently on their post-season friendly tour in Australia. They flew to the other side of the globe straight after their final Premier League game on Sunday against Brentford.
Their first friendly was against Tottenham, which they won 5-4 on penalties. The second match was today against A-League All Stars in Melbourne, for which Eddie Howe made a bunch of changes, fielding a much younger team. They ended up getting thrashed 8-0.
Garang Kuol featured in both games. He came on to replace Callum Wilson against Tottenham with the goal still 1-1 and successfully converted his penalty during the shoot-out.
Eddie Howe hopeful of another loan spell for Kuol
Speaking before the game, Howe also praised Kuol’s recent performance in a match against Tottenham and indicated the need for him to gain more game time through another loan to ensure a successful development.
Discussing the young Australian, he said (quotes via The Shields Gazette):
“He’s been with us since we started our journey from England,”
“It’s great to see him again and chat with him but it was a difficult game [for him] to come into because we didn’t have a lot of the ball, we went to a slightly younger team so it was a case of defending and seeing the game out in that way.”
When asked about his future, he responded saying:
“It’s very difficult to say for certain what’s going to happen with a player at this stage because there’s a long way to go before the season starts but possibly another loan spell for him will be important,”
“He’s had a couple of loan spells now but he needs the next one to be a successful one and we need him to get more game time and hopefully that will happen.”
Kuol’s performance and future loan spell are seen as critical for his continued growth and contribution to Newcastle United’s long-term plans.