Manager Robbie Neilson hopes Hearts have done enough to land a loan deal for "huge prospect" Garang Kuol.
The Australia forward, 18, visited the Edinburgh club for talks, having recently moved from Central Coast Mariners to Newcastle United.
The English Premier League club want to arrange a loan for the teenager, who played at the World Cup.
"It's still at the very early stages," said Neilson. "It will depend on what other clubs are in for him."
Kuol's international team-mates Kye Rowles, Cammy Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson are at Tynecastle, with Neilson adding: "The opportunity came to speak to him so we brought him up and we'll see where it goes.