Sky Sports make Newcastle United transfer U-turn claim after squad omission & £20m deal agreed
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According to Sky Sports, Newcastle have turned down an approach from Championship club Watford to sign Targett on loan until the end of the season. The 29-year-old joined Newcastle from Aston Villa for £15million in 2022 following a successful loan spell at St James’ Park.
But he has struggled to make an impact since making his move permanent due to various injuries, illnesses and the form of his teammates playing left-back. Targett started his first match for Newcastle in over 14 months in January as he grabbed two assists in the 3-1 FA Cup third-round win against Bromley.
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Hide AdBut Targett has been omitted from Newcastle’s matchday squad in the four Premier League matches that have followed. His only Premier League outing so far this season came as a late substitute against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. The Magpies were willing to listen to offers for Targett during the winter transfer window as he enters the final 18 months of his contract at the club - but that situation has changed.
Newcastle United unlikely to sanction exit after £20m deal agreed
The imminent departure of Lloyd Kelly to Juventus on loan with an obligation to buy totalling £20million has ultimately had a knock-on impact on Targett’s future. With both Kelly and Targett capable of playing left-back, the club would be reluctant to lose to players in the same position given that a replacement won’t be found before the deadline.
Lewis Hall is the current starting left-back at Newcastle but Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento and Targett all have experience playing in the position. Of those, Targett is the most experienced and most natural left-back.
Matt Targett - a Leeds United ‘target’?
In addition to Watford, another Championship club linked with a move for Targett this transfer window has been Leeds United. But reports of talks and a potential agreement to sign Targett were strongly played down by Leeds last week, labelling the reports ‘complete fabrication’
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Hide AdWhen 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 and Lloyd Kelly departing in the past week.
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.
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Hide AdIt 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.”
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