New Newcastle United signing talks revealed by manager

Newcastle United loaned Kuol to the Scottish Premiership club in January after signing him from Central Coast Mariners.

However, the loan has not gone to plan so far, and Kuol, 18, has only made one start and seven substitute’s appearances for Hearts.

The last time Kuol, loaned to the club for first-team experience, made it off the bench was on March 11.

And Naismith told the Evening News: “Like I’ve done with so many other players, I sat down and had a chat with him.

“I told him ‘first of all, I understand you’ve moved halfway round the world. At 18, you’ve moved to one club – and went on loan to another club. You have all this pressure on you deliver. That’s a lot to deal with, so let’s strip it back. You firstly need to get to the point where you’re just enjoying it, and you are learning.’

“I texted Garang after the game on Saturday (against Ross County) when I went home, because he was on my mind.

“I said ‘I know you’ll be really disappointed not to get on the pitch. I know you might have been sitting thinking you would definitely get on at 6-0. It was more circumstances of players coming off, and who I felt I could put on rather than anything you’ve done’.

“Since I’ve been in this role, he has shown a willingness to learn and I’ve seen improvement – more with off-the-ball stuff.

“He’s a young kid, and he lacks that switch when you lose the ball to think ‘right, what do I do?’. He hasn’t had that coached as yet.

“Over the last couple of weeks I’ve seen a big difference, and his reactions are much better now.

“He wants to be involved and score goals, like every player does. We do sympathise with him. I’ve enjoyed working with him, and I think he’ll be a good player in years to come. He just needs to keep learning.”

Howe was keen for Kuol to experience “British” football ahead of a pre-season at Newcastle in the summer.

“Players go on loan for lots of different reasons, and his would be to gain experience, to learn a lot about British football,” said Howe in January.