News broke last night that Newcastle and Aston Villa were putting the final touches on a permanent move for left back Matt Targett who had an impressive loan spell on Tyneside in the second half of last season.
Rumours had grown around the deal suggesting that Newcastle were unlikely to take up their option to buy Targett this summer with Eddie Howe preferring a more attack-minded option, however it just seems the club were biding their time, perhaps waiting until they had Dan Ashworth in place before making an official move.
90min suggest that Targett could be having a medical on Tyneside today to finalise his move after Dan Ashworth put the finishing touches on the deal. Newcastle already had an agreement in place for a £15m transfer as part of the loan deal with Steven Gerrard’s Villa, and Dan Ashworth has swooped in to activate that clause. Although many outlets are now reporting that the actual figure is more like £12m.
Targett made 16 appearances for Newcastle last season and won the fans over with his solid displays at the back as well as winning over his colleagues with Bruno Guimaraes interrupting a post-match interview with Targett after the Arsenal game and insisting that Targett “needs to stay”.
Whether this deal puts to bed any hope of signing someone like Renan Lodi or another more attacking left back remains to be seen, but either way fans will be delighted to see the Targett move being made permanent after it looking like a dead deal at one point.
We HAVE a to sign this lad, he gets us, he is quality and can mix it with the best. He will be another who will improve under Howe
Absolutely. I was gutted when it looked like we weren’t going to bother. He is rock solid and fits in well. And for £12m we are stealing him.