'This kid is really special': Hearts target Garang Kuol gets seal of approval from world football legend

Hearts target Garang Kuol was recently praised to the heavens by Barcelona manager Xavi, it has been revealed.

The world-renowned former midfielder, who won the World Cup, European Championships and Champions League during his glittering career, was impressed by what he saw from Kuol in an exhibition match between Barca and an A-League select side last term.

The attacker visited Hearts on Thursday as the Tynecastle club made their pitch to the 18-year-old as they seek to sign him on loan from Newcastle United for the rest of the season.

The Magpies officially signed Kuol on January 1 after agreeing a pre-arranged deal in the autumn to bring the player to the UK from Central Coast Mariners. They are immediately seeking to loan him out in a bid to get regular first-team football and Hearts are one of many clubs chasing his signature.

Garang Kuol visited Hearts on Thursday as the Tynecastle side made their pitch for the Newcastle attacker to join them on loan. Picture: Getty

Kuol, who also represented Australia at the World Cup, showed off his talents after coming off the bench for the final 30 minutes against Catalan giants Barcelona last May. Mariners head coach and former Scotland under-21 midfielder Nick Montgomery revealed in an interview with the Scottish Sun what Xavi said about the forward after the friendly match.

"I put Garang in the first team midway through last season, and he was soon creating havoc against opposition defences in the A-League. Then an A-League All Stars team managed by Dwight Yorke played Barcelona last May,” said Montgomery.

"Garang came off the bench for them with 30 minutes remaining and just completely ripped Barca to shreds. He literally ran past the whole team about three times and should have scored. Everyone just went, ‘Wow, this kid is unbelievable’ — including Xavi.

"Garang made some of the world’s best defenders looked like mannequins. That’s not easy to do, but that is when the interest from Barcelona came. Xavi said, ‘This kid is really special’. When you’ve got someone like him talking like that then it’s pretty obvious these clubs are going to show some interest.

"And from that moment the biggest clubs in the world started looking at Kuol too, including Newcastle."

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