Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has cast doubt over the permanent arrival of Matt Targett at St James’ Park.
The left-back moved to Tyneside from Aston Villa on loan in January and has been a permanent fixture in Eddie Howe’s side, making 14 appearances ahead of Monday night’s clash against Arsenal.
Chronicle Live reported last month that Newcastle have an option to sign Targett on a permanent basis and have already agreed a fee with the West Midlanders.
Lucas Digne’s arrival at Villa left the 26-year-old out of favour at his parent club, but despite becoming a mainstay in the Newcastle side, Downie believes that the Magpies could still miss out on the £15.3m-rated defender.
He told GiveMeSport: “There’s a few noises around the Targett thing that make me think it might not happen, unless there’s a very clever game being played, there’s a few noises that raise a couple of question marks to whether that one is going to happen or not.”
TIF Thoughts on Targett to Newcastle…
This comes as an unexpected surprise at the left-back has been claimed to be the priority target for the Magpies.
According to 90min, Leicester City, Leeds United and Wolves are all interested in signing the full-back, who has played 140 Premier League matches, but the report revealed that a switch to the northeast is still the ‘favoured’ outcome.
And with Targett thought to be the ‘driving force’ behind a move to Tyneside, this could give PIF an edge when it comes to the upcoming transfer window.
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