Eddie Howe has confirmed that new recruit Garang Kuol could train with the first team following his January move to Newcastle United – although a loan move appears to be in the offing.
The 18-year-old played his last game for Central Coast Mariners on New Year’s Eve, receiving a standing ovation as he went off for the last time in a win over Melbourne Victory.
It seems he’ll link up with the senior squad initially, but Howe believes he “needs to go and play” for the sake of his development, hoping the club find him a suitable loan move that allows him to play at a high level.
The Telegraph report that Dan Ashworth will now oversee this phase of his development, searching for a suitable side for him to join for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
On other incomings, Howe admitted that injuries may determine our activity in the transfer market this month, with both Jonjo Shelvey (calf) and Matt Targett (heel) set for spells on the sidelines. However, he’s reluctant to add to his tight-knit group for the sake of it and doesn’t know how long either will be missing for.
Here’s what he had to say on all of the above, starting with this plan for the incoming Kuol:
“It’s a possibility Garang could train with us for a little while.
“But I do think that for the player’s development, he needs to go and play.
“If possible, that would be at a very good level, with a good club and a good coach.
“That’s not a decision that’s been made currently, so we’ll have to assess what all of our options are.”
Asked about our January transfer plans following injuries to Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Target, Howe then had this to say:
“I love the group, I think we’ve got a really strong team. The thing we have to guard against, of course, at this time of year, is injuries and every player we lose is a hammer blow and it does open up potential weaknesses in the squad. We’re very aware of that.
“I think when you look at Jonjo and Matt Targett’s injury, we don’t quite know how long they’ll be out but I don’t think either of them are long-term so we will get them back.
“We obviously have to think about that as well so there’s a lot to take in.”
