‘Not in the plans’ - Newcastle United defender stuns manager & Birmingham City after January transfer decision
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Newcastle United latest news: Newcastle United loanee Matt Targett scored a brace as Middlesbrough defeated Birmingham City in the Championship.
Middlesbrough’s automatic promotion hopes were delivered a huge boost on Monday night as they defeated Birmingham City 3-1 to move four points clear of third placed Millwall.
Boro headed to the Midlands having not won any of their previous three league matches and began the game trailing leaders Coventry City by eight points. However, any nerves that their poor form would continue at St Andrew’s were banished inside 26 minutes as they raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of a brace from Matt Targett.
Targett joined Boro on-loan in the summer after struggling for minutes at Newcastle United and has been a regular on Teesside under both Rob Edwards and new boss Kim Hellberg. Seeing Targett pop up with two goals would not only have sent Boro fans into delirium, but they also undoubtedly raised a few chuckles across the Midlands with Targett, a former Aston Villa defender, coming back to the midlands to silence the Villans’ biggest rivals.
A reply from Marvin Duscksch just after half-time threatened to derail Boro’s celebrations, but David Strelec’s goal on the hour mark sealed all three points for Hellberg’s side. Speaking post-match about his side’s victory and Targett’s match-winning impact, Hellberg said: “The big difference was the defensive shape.
“Sometimes you get those things right, sometimes wrong. To guess Matt was going to score two goals from that position was not in the plans.
“But he did brilliantly, he deserved it. I’m very happy for him [Targett], he’s such a good guy. He’s been playing through pain, all sorts of things in different periods. He’s always got a smile on his face and been absolutely brilliant.
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“Of course, it was connected with how we wanted to press them, and that showed how good they are in adapting to different game plans.”
Newcastle United’s Matt Targett transfer decision
The decision to let Targett join Middlesbrough on-loan during the summer was one that made sense for all parties involved. Targett simply wasn’t getting regular football at St James’ Park and had entered the final year of his contract on Tyneside.
Having not really played regularly for three years at that point, Targett’s move to the Riverside Stadium would once again see him play regular first-team football at a club that could offer him a long-term future. The 30-year-old impressed during his first few months on Teesside, but was then linked with a premature return to his parent club in January.
An injury crisis on Tyneside had severely depleted Eddie Howe’s defensive options, with the Newcastle United head coach having just three senior defenders to choose from at the turn of the year. Recalling Targett, therefore, was an option for the Magpies and one that they explored throughout the winter window.
Ultimately, they opted against recalling Targett from his loan and instead banked on being able to get by until their sidelined defenders were all back fit. Targett, meanwhile, will be hopeful that his good form can help Boro to promotion from the Championship and potentially secure him a permanent move in the summer.