Newcastle United winger Garang Kuol has joined Czech giants Sparta Prague on a permanent deal after two unfortunate loan spells in Scotland and the Netherlands.
The Australian U23s international joined Newcastle in 2023 from Central Coast Mariners, after scoring six goals in 18 league appearances.
Former Under-21s lead coach Diarmuid O’Carroll has snapped up the 20-year-old for a reported £500,000, just a few months after leaving his role at Newcastle for a coaching role in Prague.
Kuol joined as a highly rated prospect and a future first team player, however after unsuccessful loan spells at Hearts and FC Voldedam, he leaves the club as a tough few years.
He struggled for game time everywhere he went, which is another failure for loan coordinator Shola Ameobi, but may also reflect on his struggle to settle into senior football.
Kuol joined up with the U21s last season, scoring five goals and getting four assists in the PL2 Playoffs. He was not in the squad this season, which was a catalyst for his move to the Czech League.
Koul found it hard to get into the squad in his loan spells, only playing nine games for Hearts in 2023, scoring one goal. At FC Voldendam, he played more regularly, playing 16 games and bagging one goal and one assist, before being relegated to the Voldendam U21s, playing only one game there.
Shola Ameobi has to be scratching his head in disbelief, wondering how a player with so much potential didn’t live up to the hype.