Central Coast Mariners have secured the services of Garang Kuol, with the youngster signing with the A-League club.  He is the second signing in as many days, with three other players also committing to Central Coast this past week.

Garang Kuol Signing

  • Garang Kuol has signed his first professional contract with Central Coast.
  • Kuol is the second signing this week by Mariners.
  • Three other Mariners players also committed to the A-League side this past week.

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17-year old Garang Kuol has signed his first professional contract, choosing to remain with Central Coast Mariners.  The attacker joined Mariners' Academy at 16 year's of age and broke into the first team last season.

Kuol made twelve senior appearances in all competitions during 2021-22, scoring five times.  His exploits were enough to merit inclusion in the A-League All Stars match.   Kuol came off the bench in the 57' minute of play against FC Barcelona and made an electrifying appearance.

It even lead to Barca's head coach Xavi expressing how impressed he was with Kuol post match.

"Dwight Yorke told me he was 16 or 17... it was a big surprise," Xavi said.

"He was very fast and we conceded two or three chances because of him.

"He's a great player and he has a great future, he is a talent that is obvious."

Kuol's head coach Nick Montgomery echoed Xavi's statement upon the signing announcement.

“I brought Garang to the club as a 16-year-old into the Academy program and what he has achieved in this short space of time doesn’t surprise me as he is a massive talent," said Montgomery.

“He is a quiet kid off the field but most importantly does his talking on the field, is lethal in front of goal and a player who likes to go at defenders 1v1 and we saw that with the performances he produced off the bench at the back end of last season.

“Garang isn’t fazed by anything and is very level-headed, which is why he made Barcelona seem like an easy assignment and in the process, being an inspiration for all kids in this country.

"It gave our club great pride to see him make the match his own. 

"I look forward to working with him for the next two years at the club and developing him further to become one of the A-League’s most exciting talents in a long time.”

Kuol signed a two year professional deal which will keep him on the Central Coast until 2024.

Mariners have also recruited Sam Silvera to their side.  Silvera most recently was on loan at Newcastle Jets this past season from Campeonato de Portugal club Sanjoanense.  He had joined them from Portuguese rivals Casa Pia.

Prior to signing abroad, the 21 year old attacker had been with Western Sydney Wanderers' youth setup before signing for Mariners.  He would go onto making his professional debut in the 2019-20 season.  

Mariners have now convinced him to come back home, with the youngster signing a three year contract.

“I am really happy to be back home for the next three seasons and I am looking forward to playing under Monty & Serg," said Silvera upon his return announcement.

"I know they can help take my game to the next level and seeing what they have done with young players at the club, I know this is the right move for me.

“I had a lot of good memories from my time here and I am grateful to the Mariners for giving me my professional debut.

“The club has built strong foundations over the last couple of seasons and I am ready to excite the fans once more.”

Mariners also confirmed the extension of contracts for three of their current players this past week. Beni Nkololo, Storm Roux and Yaren Sozer have all signed one year extensions with Mariners.

This adds their names to Jason Cummings, Dan Hall, Max Balard, Thomas Aquilina, Michael Ruhs and Josh Nisbet, as players re-signed for the upcoming season.

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