Fabrizio Romano confirms Reading FC transfer blow on Newcastle United youngster | OneFootball

Newcastle United winger Garang Kuol is set to join Scottish Premiership outfit Hearts on loan for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.

The same journalist also goes on to confirm that Reading were interested in striking a loan deal for the 18-year-old who only linked up with Eddie Howe’s side this month after joining from Central Coast Mariners.

He was unknown in England before this move to St James’ Park was announced, with the teenager then going on to make two appearances for Australia at the World Cup last year as he made two substitute appearances in Qatar.

Quiz: Can you name which club Reading signed these 22 players from?

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Shane Long?

Southampton Bournemouth Crystal Palace Brighton

Coming on against France for the Socceroos in the opening group game, he was then brought on by Graham Arnold against eventual winners Argentina in the round of 16, though he was unable to score in either game.

That didn’t stop the Royals from taking an interest in him though, with Paul Ince still looking at potential targets despite the fact he’s unable to add more players to his squad at this stage unless a current first-teamer moves on.

This is due to the business plan they are currently abiding by following their breach of financial fair play rules, with the EFL capping the number of players they are allowed in their first-team squad.

The Verdict:

Considering they already have five loanees at their disposal, this may not be too much of a blow for the Royals.

They are only allowed five players in a matchday squad and that means someone would have needed to be omitted from 18 altogether.

That wouldn’t have been great for team spirit and could have caused disharmony in the camp, so they should be looking towards the free agent market instead to see who’s left.

The problem is, most free agents that would have been useful for the Royals were already snapped up in the summer, although Michael Hector could still be a great option for the Berkshire outfit.

With Liam Moore suffering a fresh setback, they may want to bring in another central defender, but a midfielder or two may be a higher priority at this stage considering Jeff Hendrick and Mamadou Loum haven’t performed well at times.

They could also benefit from having a backup option to Tom Ince, with Mamadi Camara perhaps too inexperienced at this point and Ovie Ejaria failing to make his mark when available.