OPINION
Southampton must tread carefully when dealing with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough’s interest in defender Matt Targett.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post the Championship duo are both keen on borrowing the 22-year-old left back after the Saints opted to hold onto him by rejecting Fulham’s £15million offer for his services earlier this summer.
Targett proved in his 21 appearances for the Cottagers in the second half of his 2017/18 campaign while on loan with them that he was a very promising talent who is ready to be tested in the Premier League.
The left-back, who earns £35,000-a-week at the Saints (Source: Spotrac), no doubt feels the same way as he looked a level above playing in the Championship as he cruised his way to excellent performances without hardly having to break too much of a sweat.
Yet Targett is unlikely to get the regular playing time he needs to continuing to develop and requires in order to remain happy at the Saints even though he made the bench for his side’s latest game against Everton.
This means the Saints must look to loan him out not just to aid his progress but as he is no doubt still a little disappointed at not securing a move to the Cottagers this summer where he would been handed first-team football.
He is likely to become frustrated and restless stuck on the bench due to this, which is not a scenario that would be ideal for Mark Hughes’ side.
However the Saints most opt to tread carefully when picking which side to lend Targett’s services too as they will want him to gain something from a loan spell despite already looking like he has mastered how to excel in the Championship.
Hughes must carefully weigh up which of Targett’s suitors will actually be able to help him continue to excel otherwise a bad move could undo all his good work as well as his growing reputation.
With the right move the Saints will clearly keep Targett happy and be able to welcome back a player that should be pushing for a first-team place in the summer.
Therefore the Saints must air on the side of caution when deciding what to do next with their promising left-back.