Newcastle United issue official response to Celtic transfer 'enquiry' claim for £15m player

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was quick to shut down one potential transfer exit before Thursday's deadline.

In Monday's pre-match press conference, Howe was asked by Sky Sports whether Celtic had made an enquiry for left-back Matt Targett. The defender hasn't featured for Newcastle since November due to a hamstring injury and has started just three matches this season.

Howe shook his head before responding: "No, incorrect, you're way off. Matt is injured and has still got some way to go in his injury. He's also a big part of what we're doing here."

Howe then laughed: "I think you're making things up, to be honest!"

Targett joined Newcastle on loan from Aston Villa two years ago in a deal that was later made permanent for £15million ahead of the 2022-23 season. While Targett played a key role in helping The Magpies avoid relegation in his first half-season at St James' Park, he has played more of a peripheral role since with Dan Burn regularly being deployed in the left-back position instead.

Since signing for the club permanently, the 28-year-old has started just seven Premier League matches. He started 16 out of 17 matches during his loan spell at Newcastle with the only game he missed against Aston Villa, his parent club at the time.

On Targett's injury, Howe told The Gazette: "He's working his way back to fitness. He's on the grass, he's running, he's not training with us yet, he's not sprinting so he's still at 60, 70% running speed so he's still got a bit to go."