£15m Leeds United 'target' spotted at training ground ahead of Newcastle United transfer decision
Newcastle United defender Matt Targett has been linked with a transfer exit this month.
The 29-year-old has started just one competitive game for Newcastle since November 2023 due to various injury issues and has been made available to leave the club this transfer window should an acceptable offer come in.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe also suggested earlier this month that some of the first-team fringe players could leave before the transfer deadline on Monday, February 3.
“I'm not ruling anything out in terms of players leaving, but certainly not our core established players in the team,” Howe said. “There might be movement in certain other players.”
Targett joined Newcastle from Aston Villa for £15million in 2022 following a successful loan spell but has made just 28 appearances over the last three seasons.
Targett made his first competitive appearance in over 14 months for Newcastle when he started the 3-1 win over Bromley in the FA Cup third round earlier this month - grabbing two assists. But he has been absent from Newcastle’s last five Premier League matchday squads with uncertainty over his future.
Leeds United ‘interested’ in Matt Targett
Championship promotion hopefuls Leeds United have been linked with a move for Matt Targett this month with reports claiming a transfer enquiry had been made and a deal was ‘imminent’. But official club sources at Leeds insist that they ‘have never been in for him’ and have been left ‘baffled’ by the link.
The left-back has 18 months left on his contract at Newcastle, where he is understood to be a high earner despite his limited time on the pitch.
When asked if Targett would leave Newcastle earlier this month, Howe told The Gazette: “Yes, I don't know. I don't really want to talk about players [leaving] too much because we have a small squad.
“If we've lost Harvey [Barnes] with an injury, that makes us even tighter with numbers. So I don't really think that's in my mind in terms of letting too many players go.”
But The Magpies boss has since been more open and accepting of the idea of letting players go with Miguel Almiron completing a £10million move to Atlanta United on Thursday.
Matt Targett comments on a ‘very difficult’ period at Newcastle United
A hamstring issue followed by subsequent Achilles and eczema problems saw Targett effectively sidelined from first team action for over a year.
It has been very difficult, I’m not going to lie,” Targett said about his fitness troubles. “But the feeling I had after coming on against Aston Villa [on Boxing Day] brought that feeling back where you haven’t played in so long and you start to miss the game.
“So, yeah, that brought a really, really good feeling back and then to start against Bromley and to play a fair bit of the game, it was nice for me. I’d played a couple of Under-21’s games, but it’s not the same, so it was nice to start again.”
Targett will be in search of regular first team football, something he is not guaranteed at Newcastle with Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier all capable of playing in the left-back position under Howe.