Daniel Feliciano

Wed 8 June 2022 11:00, UK

Aston Villa defender Matt Targett is set to complete a permanent transfer to Newcastle after his successful loan spell in the 2021/22 season, according to Daily Mail [June 8].

The left-back was allowed to leave the club in January after Steven Gerrard brought in Lucas Digne from Everton, with Targett preferring to have regular football than compete from the bench at Villa Park.

But after helping the Magpies secure survival and eventually an 11th placed finish in the Premier League, they are now set to seal a £12m deal to make the loan permanent.

Fulham had also shown interest in signing Targett with Newcastle looking at other options including Atletico Madrid defender Renan Lodi.

But after completing 90 minutes in 17 of a possible 18 games, only missing minutes against his parent club in the Premier League, Eddie Howe has moved to make him a permanent part of the squad at St James’ Park next season.

Good deal

Since his arrival in January, Digne has made that left-back spot his own and hasn’t given Gerrard any reason at all to alter his plans of moving forward with him as first-choice in the new season.

That means Targett isn’t part of the club’s plans and selling him makes the most sense, especially if there is obvious interest from other parties.

With the team also interested in Calvin Bassey for the squad, who is capable of playing at left-back too, it makes sense to cash in and trim the squad a little after already making four permanent additions to the squad before the window opens.

Targett has been a great servant for the club since joining back in 2019 from Southampton, proving to be Premier League quality and helping the team achieve stability in the division since their promotion under Dean Smith.

But it’s the perfect time for the parties to separate and fans can thank him for his services while looking forward to the future of the squad without him too.

In other Aston Villa news, Gerrard doesn’t want to sell this key first-team ace this summer