Newcastle United star facing ‘uncertain’ future after Leeds United ‘interest’ and transfer bid

Around £30m was raised through the sales of Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron - money which the club can put towards signings when the summer transfer window opens. Newcastle United resisted the temptation to spend that money during the winter window and will aim for silverware and European qualification with the same group of players, now two bodies lighter, that they entered the window with.

Kelly’s departure in particular netted them a tidy fee and one that shouldn’t leave them too stretched in defence. Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Emil Krafth and Jamaal Lascelles can all fill in at centre-half, whilst Lewis Hall has been one of their players of the season as he makes that left-back position his own.

Set to act as back-up for Hall between now and the end of the campaign following Kelly’s sale is Matt Targett. The former Aston Villa man has made just one start all season, coming against Bromley in the FA Cup, and has featured just once in the Premier League this campaign as a late substitute against the Villains in December.

A hamstring injury and achilles problem saw Targett sidelined for around 10 months between November 2023 and September last year before a flare up of eczema pushed back his long-awaited return to action. Speaking about those issues, Target said recently: “When I did my hamstring away at Manchester United and then recovered from that, I think I was back for a week or two and then somehow I got a tear in my achilles, so that set me back another three or four months.

“Going into this season, I knew I’d miss all of pre-season with the team but would try and get back in and around the team for the first games. In my head, I was like ‘OK, it’s not great that I’ve missed all the pre-season games but I’m not missing too much of the season’.

“I was just focussing on trying to come back as strong as possible for that. And then I had the eczema flare-up, which was literally out of the blue and that knocked me for six, so that set me back a bit.”

Despite putting those problems behind him, Targett has not been included in any of Newcastle’s last six Premier League matchday squads and had clubs sniffing around him during the transfer window. Whilst reports surrounding interest from Leeds United quickly had cold water poured on them, Sky Sports reported that Watford made a late move for the defender - only to see their interest quickly rebuffed by the Magpies.

Targett will be needed between now and May with Kelly’s departure leaving them with just him and Hall as natural left-back options. However, Targett’s long-term future at the club is uncertain and the winter window has shown there is a market for the 29-year-old’s signature if the Magpies do look to move him on.

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