Subway Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold has hailed young Victorian sensation Garang Kuol's future prospects.
The Shepparton-raised Kuol made his Subway Socceroos debut against New Zealand on September 25 and then only days later sealed a move to English Premier League club Newcastle United.
Graham Arnold said Kuol was “heading in the direction” of becoming the next George Best in Australia when asked who was Australia’s brightest 17-year-old prospect at Football Victoria’s Full-Time Community in Business (CIB) luncheon on Friday, October 7.
"He is a beautiful kid, he has a great nature and a great personality,” Arnold said.
“He has only taken one little step on his career and his journey.
“He has got that bit of craziness about him that footballers need.”
George Best was a winger from Northern Ireland who spent most of his club career at Manchester United. He was a highly skillful dribbler and was highly regarded from a young age.
The teenage sensation has burst onto the scene since making his Mariners debut, scoring four goals and making one assist from 10 appearances.
On May 25, Kuol’s admiration rose through the roof when he delivered tenfold for the A-League All-Stars in their exhibition match against Barcelona FC.
Kuol’s road to success certainly had a rocky start as his family fled to Egypt before migrating to Australia in 2005 following the Second Sudanese Civil.
The 17-year-old’s family settled in Shepparton in regional Victoria where he plied his trade at the Goulburn Valley Suns, before being offered a youth contract at the Central Coast Mariners.
Graham told the crowd at the CIB function he saw a bright future ahead for the Victorian prospect.
“Someone like Garang can really inspire a lot of kids,” he said.
“He has got to realise that this is just the first step and there is a lot of hard work and a lot of good times and hard times to go with it as well.”