Journalist Dominic Scurr has slammed Newcastle United defender Matt Targett as he ‘struggled’ in their recent pre-season friendly.
As the Magpies look to step up their preparations for the upcoming Premier League season, they took on Portuguese outfit Benfica in the Eusebio Cup.
Miguel Almiron may have found the net twice in the first half, but their opponents claimed the win with a 3-2 victory, sealed late on in the game.
During the defeat, Scurr noted that Targett didn’t look comfortable and made as much clear in his player ratings for The Shields Gazette.
Indeed, he wrote: “Not the most comfortable evening for the Newcastle left-back as he struggled to get forward and couldn’t get his foot on the ball.”
Will Matt Targett shine for Newcastle this season?
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As a consequence of his poor display, Targett was also handed a 5/10 match rating from Scurr – which doesn’t bode too well for the new season.
The left-back completed his permanent transfer to Newcastle from Aston Villa earlier in the summer, having spent the last half of the prior campaign on loan with the Magpies.
And while the 26-year-old ‘flourished’ during his initial spell with the club, he will have to maintain that form if he doesn’t want to become a flop for Eddie Howe.
Of course, this was only a pre-season match, so it’s nothing to be too concerned about just yet. Even so, he will hope to get performances like this out of his system soon.