The moment Eddie Howe told Matt Targett he wanted to sign him for Newcastle United from Aston Villa

The 26-year-old impressed during a half-season loan spell at Newcastle in 2021-22 as the club finished 11th in the Premier League.

And The Magpies were able to secure Targett permanently for a total of £15million, including the initial loan fee paid to Villa in January.

The left-back signed a four-year deal at St James’s Park to become Newcastle’s first major summer signing on Wednesday.

But a potential move had been on the cards for some time with Eddie Howe making his intentions clear to the player last month.

“To be fair, I spoke with the manager just before the Burnley game and he said he wanted to sign me,” Targett revealed. “So after the last game of the season, it was a bit quiet and then about a week ago, it started to liven up so we've been back and forth and I'm just over the moon that we got it done.”

Both Howe and the Newcastle supporters were key in convincing Targett to return on a permanent basis.

“I was really looking forward to coming when Eddie was here,” he told NUFC TV. “I'd heard lots of good things about him from previous players who had played under him and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

“[The fans] were a massive [factor], just the whole feel-good factor around the club from when I came in, the atmosphere in the ground every matchday, even after training there are hundreds of fans waiting outside, so it's an intense city for football for sure.”

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