NEWCASTLE UNITED are set to sign teenage wonder-kid Garang Kuol, according to reports in the Australian’s homeland.

Kuol, who does not turn 18 until tomorrow, is regarded as the hottest prospect in Australian football, having received his maiden call-up into Graham Arnold’s senior Socceroos squad earlier this week.

The teenage attacker currently plays with Central Coast Mariners, but reports in Australia claim he is on the verge of agreeing a deal that will see him join Newcastle in January, provided the requirements for a work permit are met.

The reports suggest Kuol will remain with Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A-League until January, when he will sign a four-year deal with the Magpies. He will then be loaned out for the second half of the season to enable him to get some experience of European football.

Kuol, who is expected to make his senior Australian debut in this month’s home-and-away double-header with New Zealand, has a buyout clause in his current contract, which Newcastle have reportedly signalled they intend to trigger.

While the initial fee required to prise Kuol away from Central Coast Mariners is understood to be relatively low, any deal will include a series of lucrative add-ons that will kick in at various stages of the youngster’s development provided he continues to progress as hoped.

Kuol is having a breakthrough season in Australia, having scored four goals in just 189 minutes of A-League action off the substitutes’ bench.

His capture would represent a bold statement of Newcastle’s new intent to add the identify and recruit the best young talent from all over the world before the players in question become established as regular first-team players.

The Magpies’ new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, has made increasing Newcastle’s global reach and improving their youth-development programme two key ambitions for his reign, and Kuol’s capture would appear to tick both boxes.