Chris Waugh of The Athletic has revealed on Twitter that Matt Targett could return to Newcastle United despite the club exploring the transfer market for an alternative option at the position.
Newcastle brass has been linked to a number of targets in the summer transfer window already and is pushing to build around their new manager Eddie Howe to push themselves up the table and continue their good work in the transfer period.
Their successful work in the 2022 January window, spending a whopping £92.8 million, helped push them up the table to 11th and kick-started their reformation after the dark years under former owner Mike Ashley. One of the players they bought in on loan during this time was Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett who made 16 appearances after joining and became a mainstay in the club for the rest of the season.
It has been up in the air on whether Newcastle will resign the defender on a permanent deal as they have been linked with other left-backs like Renan Lodi from Atletico Madrid. However, according to Waugh, the club might still look to sign Targett despite their interest in other players.
He wrote: “NUFC do want another left-back, & are exploring alternative, more attacking options, but could yet return for Targett.”
TIF Thoughts on Newcastle signing Targett…
Newcastle needed to use the January transfer window in order to secure their Premier League status after their horrific start to the season which saw them fail to win a game during the first 14 of the season.
They used this to sign Targett, amongst others, and they kicked on and showed the rest of the league what this team could be capable of moving forward. With this in mind, it would be smart for them to build on this and keep that core of January incomings to see how they progress and push the team further forward.
Targett, who has been hailed as ‘outstanding’ by Eddie Howe, also knows the Premier League well having played for Villa for several seasons before making his move to Tyneside. Having experience with a mix of new and exciting talent is important and bringing in Targett would also be a cheaper addition as he is surplus to requirements at Villa.