Garang Kuol is an "excitement machine" and can thrill for Australia at the World Cup in Qatar, Socceroos great John Aloisi has told Stats Perform.

Teenager Kuol is the most promising talent in Australia's A-League and has already agreed a January move to Newcastle United in the Premier League.

The 18-year-old, who can play across the front line, only made his full debut for Central Coast Mariners in an Australia Cup tie in July.

But Kuol had previously made nine A-League appearances as a substitute, scoring four goals in just 189 minutes.

He also starred in the A-League All Stars Game against Barcelona and during his Australia debut versus New Zealand.

Aloisi, who played and scored for the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup, now hopes to see Kuol given the opportunity to impress again in Qatar next month.

The 46-year-old now coaches Western United, who lost 1-0 to a Kuol goal in their last meeting with Central Coast in April.

"Well, I'm excited about Garang Kuol because having coached against him, watched him closely, he's an excitement machine," Aloisi told Stats Perform.

"And I don't want to put too much pressure on him as well, because there's still a long way to go in his career.

"But it's great that he's able to sign for a Premier League club. Hopefully he becomes the next big thing for Australian football. But we have to help him and also guide him.

"It's exciting, and I'm sure that if he does get that ticket on the plane and he does come on, it will excite everyone watching, and all Australians will be following him and seeing how good he is."

Newcastle United have won the race for the signature of exciting 18-year-old Australian forward Garang Kuol.

Kuol, who debuted for the Socceroos in Sunday's 2-0 win over New Zealand, reached an agreement with the Magpies to join the Premier League outfit from A-League club Central Coast in January.

The Egypt-born forward scored five goals in 12 games in all competitions last season after bursting on to the scene with the Mariners.

Kuol dazzled in May's A-League All-Stars game against Barcelona, reportedly sparking interest from several top clubs, including the Blaugrana and Chelsea.

Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth said: "Garang is a very promising young talent and we are excited that he'll be continuing his development as a Newcastle United player.

"Our philosophy is to invest in our Academy and in exciting young players for the future, as well as in players required to make an immediate impact in the first team."

Kuol is in the mix for Australia's World Cup squad, with the Socceroos grouped with France, Tunisia and Denmark.

Jude Bellingham is attracting plenty of admirers with his impressive performances for Borussia Dortmund and England.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in 2020.

Bellingham is contracted until 2025, but clubs are queueing up to sign the young prospect.

TOP STORY – BLUES JOIN QUEUE FOR BELLINGHAM

Chelsea are the latest club to join the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, reports the Telegraph.

Fabrizio Romano claims that Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Manchester United along with the Blues are all pursuing a deal for the teenager.

Romano reports that Dortmund are not in talks with any clubs yet, instead deferring any discussions and decision on a price tag until after the 2022 World Cup. The Telegraph claims that Bellingham will cost around £130 million (€145m).

ROUND-UP

– The Daily Mail reports Manchester City want assurances from Bernardo Silva that he will not push for a move at the end of this season following links with Barcelona during the last transfer window. City are said to be planning talks with Silva in the coming months.

– Barcelona are interested in Ilkay Gundogan, who has less than a year remaining on his Manchester City contract, reports Sport. The German midfielder, who turns 32 in October, has been with City since 2016.

– Karim Benzema and Real Madrid are close to agreeing to an extension on his contract, locking him down at the club until 2024, reports Italian journalist Nicolo Schira.

– Tuttosport claims Milan have offered Rafael Leao an improved contract worth €6million per season plus bonuses, as they attempt to fend off interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

– The Sun claims Arsenal will make a January move for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz after failing in an attempt to sign him on deadline day.

– Socceroos 18-year-old forward Garang Kuol has flown to England to sign with Newcastle United having reached an agreement with his Australian club Central Coast, claims Fabrizio Romano. Sky Sports reports that Kuol will be loaned out in January.

Moresche was influential as Central Coast Mariners raced into an early 2-0 lead against struggling Sydney FC on Sunday and protected that advantage to return to winning ways.

The Mariners had lost their previous two A-League matches – last losing more in succession in a miserable 11-game stretch in 2020 – but Moresche made sure that short run came to an end.

The Brazilian did not get on the scoresheet himself but laid on the opener for Marco Urena after 13 minutes.

No player in the league has aimed more shots on target this season than Urena's nine, with his latest steered past Andrew Redmayne from Moresche's measured pass.

Three minutes later, it was two. Fine work from Lewis Miller on the right was followed by a low cross that sought out Moresche, only for Anthony Caceres to turn into his own net under pressure in front of the goal line.

Winless Sydney could not recover and extended their worst start to a season since 2010-11, when they had to wait 11 matches for their first victory.

Antonee Burke-Gilroy scored his first A-League goal and created another as Perth Glory beat 10-man Melbourne Victory 3-0 to leave Macarthur top of the table.

Victory went into Sunday's clash at AAMI Park on a high from winning their opening two games of the season, but they were brought back down to earth by Perth.

Rai Marchan was shown a straight red card for catching Bruno Fornaroli with a high boot following a VAR check and Glory capitalised to claim their first win of the campaign.

New signing Burke-Gilroy opened the scoring with a sweet left-foot strike from outside the penalty area after 66 minutes, before whipping in a cross for Ciaran Bramwell to nod beyond Ivan Kelava.

Captain Fornaroli rifled in a third with his right foot from 20 yards out in the closing stages as Perth ended a run of six matches without an A-League win.

Macarthur rose to the summit courtesy of an own goal from Central Coast Mariners captain Oliver Bozanic on the stroke of half-time.

Ulises Davila's strike deflected off Bozanic and in for the only goal of the game to give Macarthur a first regular-season win over the Mariners at Panthers Stadium, where Central Coast goalkeeper Yaren Sozer was forced off with a suspected torn hamstring.

A-League champions Melbourne City threw a two-goal lead away to draw 2-2 away at Adelaide United in their second game of the season.

City kicked their title defence off with a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar in their opening match and looked set to make it two wins from two after goals from Jamie Maclaren and Andrew Nabbout gave them a 2-0 advantage after 61 minutes.

However, Adelaide struck twice in the closing stages, with Stefan Mauk halving the deficit before Ben Halloran grabbed a dramatic 90th-minute equaliser to stun City.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Sydney, who finished just two points behind City in second last season, slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Macarthur at home after an early Lachlan Rose strike.

Macarthur are now level on points with table-topping City and Wellington Phoenix, who beat Central Coast Mariners 2-1, but are behind the pair on goals scored and sit third.

Gary Hooper scored for the second game running for the Phoenix in their home clash with the Mariners, who pulled one back through Marco Urena before Jaushua Sotirio fired in the winner.

The Nix are now unbeaten in 13 matches stretching back into last season and face Western Sydney Wanderers in their next game.

Central Coast Mariners missed the chance to guarantee a top-six finish in the A-League regular season as they suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat to lowly Newcastle Jets.

The division's bottom team ended a run of 14 games without victory as they enhanced their chances of climbing off the foot of the table before the end of the campaign.

The Mariners sit third but their finals series hopes will go down to the last round of games, which sees them host Western United on Saturday, if Perth Glory beat Brisbane Roar on Wednesday.

Having dominated the opening exchanges at Central Coast Stadium, the hosts' evening took a turn for the worse in the 27th minute when they were hit by a well-executed counter-attack.

A poor headed clearance landed to 16-year-old Archie Goodwin, who made the most of the space he was afforded to play in Ray O'Donovan for an excellent finish into the far left corner.

Newcastle made it 2-0 just six minutes later, Lucas Mauragis twice winning the ball high up the pitch before latching onto Angus Thurgate's through pass to squeeze the ball home.

Central Coast throught they had found a way back into the game before the break, only for a Daniel Bouman close-range strike to be ruled out for offside.

Alen Stajcic's home side started the second period in similar fashion to the first, controlling possession and constantly probing the visitors' backline.

But they came up against a surprisingly obdurate Newcastle defence that, ultimately, did not give up a chance of real note as they eased to a deserved three points.

Central Coast Mariners fought back impressively to earn a 2-1 win at Macarthur on Thursday, a result that moves them up to third in the A-League standings.

Sixth-placed Macarthur went in front at Campbelltown Stadium when Markel Susaeta raced onto a chipped pass before lifting the ball over goalkeeper Mark Birighitti.

However, the Spaniard’s fourth goal of the campaign – coming from the first attempt on target by either team – only sparked the Mariners into life.

They were level before half-time thanks to Jack Clisby, who grabbed his first A-League goal since February 2020 when firing a left-footed shot in from a tight angle.

The defender was denied a second by a VAR check, replays showing him narrowly offside to rule out an effort similar to his equaliser.

Daniel De Silva did put Central Coast ahead in the 55th minute, delightfully curling a right-footed attempt beyond goalkeeper Adam Federici from just outside the penalty area.

Macarthur were unbeaten in their previous nine outings this season in which they had scored first yet were unable to find a way back into the contest.

The home team had eight attempts after the interval but just two were on target, the defeat leaving them looking over their shoulders in the race to qualify for the A-League Finals.

Melbourne City celebrated their first A-League silverware as a narrow 1-0 triumph over Central Coast Mariners secured the Premiers Plate amid a dramatic finish at AAMI Park.

Craig Noone's headed effort just shy of the hour was enough to earn City the three points and the trophy with three games to spare, but only after enduring a tense finale.

City thought the points were wrapped up when Jamie Maclaren netted with three minutes to play, only for the hosts' striker to be denied when a VAR check found he had handballed in the build-up when tussling with Kye Rowles.

The Mariners then thought they had a chance to snatch a point in injury time when goalkeeper Mark Birighitti - up at a late corner - won the visitors a penalty.

But once again, VAR intervened with referee Shaun Evans reversing his original call after checking the pitchside monitor, to leave the home fans breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating the confirmation City will finish top at the end of the regular season.

Elsewhere, Wellington Phoenix dazzled on their New Zealand homecoming in a 3-0 win over Western United that keeps them on the coattails of the A-League's top six.

It had been 433 days since Phoenix had played a home fixture at Sky Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic and a bumper crowd of 24,105 was not disappointed.

Clayton Lewis's deflected 38th-minute opener had Wellington in front at the break and two goals in the space of six second-half minutes from Reno Piscopo and Tomer Hemed had the patient crowd celebrating a comfortable win.

While having the fans back in attendance was a victory itself, the win means Phoenix are just three points shy of Brisbane Roar in sixth with three games to play before the A-League Finals.

Central Coast Mariners and Sydney both recorded slender away victories over Newcastle Jets and Western United respectively in Saturday's A-League action.

Sydney briefly moved up to second in the table after an Adam Le Fondre penalty – his first goal since returning to the club - secured them a 1-0 triumph on their visit to Mars Stadium.

Referee Shaun Evans deemed Ivan Vujica had handled inside the penalty area and pointed to the spot, the official confirming his initial decision after a lengthy VAR check.

United goalkeeper Ryan Scott had kept Sydney at bay up until that point but was unable to deny Le Fondre, who is back after a spell with Mumbai City in India.

However, Central Coast leapfrogged back over Sydney in the standings thanks to a 1-0 win of their own in the late kick-off.

A penalty settled the game at McDonald Jones Stadium too, Matt Simon on target in the 54th minute as the Mariners recorded back-to-back wins over the Jets for the first time since October 2014.

Simon has now scored nine A-League goals against Newcastle - only against Melbourne Victory (10) has he managed more in his career.

Bruno Fornaroli scored a free-kick as Perth Glory earned a key 3-0 home win over Western United as they continued to emerge from their A-League slump.

After going six straight matches without a win, Perth have now won two in a row to keep their Finals hopes alive.

Fornaroli put them ahead on Wednesday with an early free-kick into the top corner before Chris Ikonomidis scored his third goal in as many league matches.

Substitute Joel Chianese wrapped up the points with a fine finish 13 minutes from time, to leave Western floundering given they lost 5-0 to Western Sydney Wanderers last time out.

Perth's win, though, may have been fortunate as they scored three times while only registering an xG of 0.5 compared to 0.8 for the visitors.

Second-placed Central Coast Mariners racked up 20 attempts on goal but were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw at Brisbane Roar, who are sixth, six points ahead of Perth in 10th.

Joey Champness hit the crossbar for Brisbane, while Central Coast thought they had won it when Oliver Bozanic chipped goalkeeper Jamie Young in stoppage time, only to be denied by the woodwork.

Alen Stajcic's side are one point clear of Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Macarthur in a tight table, though leaders Melbourne City are eight points clear of them at the summit.

Central Coast Mariners missed the opportunity to put pressure on A-League leaders Melbourne City after they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Melbourne Victory on Sunday. 

The Mariners started on the front foot and went ahead in the fourth minute when Matt Simon headed in Stefan Nigro's cross. 

Simon went close again soon after, while Josh Nisbet and Alou Kuol were denied by Victory goalkeeper Matt Acton. 

They were made to pay for those missed chances shortly after the half-hour, when Callum McManaman curled into the top-right corner from 15 yards after a Jake Brimmer free-kick had been cleared into his path. 

Jacob Butterfield went agonisingly close to a stunning stoppage-time winner when his long-range half-volley was pawed away by Mark Birighitti.

The result means the Mariners remain three points adrift of Melbourne City at the A-League summit, having played two games more than the leaders.

Victory, meanwhile, are in 11th, two points ahead of bottom side Newcastle Jets.

Brisbane Roar hammered out-of-form Central Coast Mariners 4-0 in Wednesday's A-League clash to move within striking distance of the top six and earn a slice of history.

Goals from Macaulay Gillesphey and Joseph Champness had Roar two goals ahead, and a straight red card for Marco Urena just after the hour preceded more Mariners woe with subs Alex Parsons and Masato Kudo on target late on at Central Coast Stadium.

A third straight win sees Roar up to seventh, just one point shy of sixth-place Western United, while the Mariners are still third but now have just one win in their past eight.

Victory also means Roar are undefeated in 19 games against the Mariners (W15, D4), marking the longest undefeated streak of any team against a single opponent in A-League history.

The breakthrough arrived after 19 minutes when Gillesphey volleyed home at the back post after Jay O'Shea's right-wing cross was deflected into his path.

Champness brilliantly drilled home a 25-yard effort for his first A-League goal in two years shortly before Urena saw red after a VAR check for a poor tackle on O'Shea.

Parsons bent home his first A-League goal in the 89th minute and the scoring was completed with a near-post finish by Kudo in injury time.

Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners both dropped points on Saturday as the battle at the A-League summit intensified.

City, fresh from a resounding 7-0 win over rivals Melbourne Victory, missed the chance to extend their lead after being held to a 1-1 draw by Macarthur.

That came following a 2-2 draw for second-placed Central Coast Mariners against Sydney.

It means City's advantage at the top is one point, while Macarthur are only three further back in fifth spot.

The Mariners failed to put maximum pressure on the leaders as they surrendered a two-goal lead on home soil.

Alen Stajcic's men appeared to be coasting after first-half strikes from Marco Urena and Matty Simon, but Milos Ninkovic cut the deficit before the break.

And the comeback was completed seven minutes from time when Trent Buhagiar capitalised on a mistake at the back to seal a point for Sydney.

Presented with a chance to move three points clear at the top, City faltered.

Connor Metcalfe's volley put Patrick Kisnorbo's men ahead with a fine volley, but Macarthur earned a share of the spoils courtesy of Michael Ruhs following some questionable defending.

Jamie Maclaren scored five times as Melbourne City thrashed 10-man Melbourne Victory 7-0 in an astonishing derby match.

City moved top of the A-League on Saturday with a Melbourne derby victory that will live long in the memory.

Andrew Nabbout had given the hosts an early lead but there were no signs an extraordinary contest was on the cards until a 30th-minute red card for Victory captain Adama Traore for a foul on the goalscorer.

Nabbout won a penalty shortly after the red card which was converted by Maclaren and it stayed 2-0 until the 64th minute.

That was when the floodgates opened.

Substitute Marco Tilio set up Maclaren for the third goal before winning a penalty that the striker converted to bring up a hat-trick with 15 minutes left to play.

The lead remained at four until a remarkable spree saw City score three times in the space of 178 seconds from the 84th minute.

Maclaren scored two of them before Adrian Luna finished the rout in style, leaving the Victory players dumbfounded.

Tilio ended the night with two assists while Luna had a game-high four key passes, with Victory mustering only one shot on target compared to 10 for the hosts.

City had beaten their rivals Victory 6-0 in the first derby of the season, with this match capping a remarkable double.

In the first game of the day, Western United defeated Central Coast Mariners 1-0 in Tasmania.

A fifth-minute goal from Connor Pain – after a one-two with Besart Berisha – proved to be the only goal.

Central Coast have now fallen to one point behind Melbourne City at the top of the table.