£15m player spotted back in Newcastle United training after nine-month absence

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is preparing his players for the first game of the season against Southampton.

Pre-season is over, with Newcastle United winning five out of their six friendlies. The only defeat came when Newcastle lost 2-0 to Yokohama F Marinos during the trip to Japan.

Now the proper football is set to return, with the Magpies kicking off the 2024/25 Premier League season with a home game against Southampton. Playing at St James’ Park is a boost, and Jamie Carragher is predicting Newcastle to win.

Newcastle train ahead of Southampton clash

Newcastle start the new season at 3pm on Saturday, and Eddie Howe is expected to have a very strong team – even if it does not include any new major signings.

But Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak will start, and have been spotted in training. Sean Longstaff will join Bruno in midfield, as he aims to enjoy a much stronger campaign.

The likes of Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon have also been spotted in training ahead of the season opener against Southampton, as they aim to win a place in Eddie Howe’s starting XI.

They are all in contention, but there is one man who has been spotted in training that will not feature.

Matt Targett appears to be back in Newcastle training

As seen in the picture of above, it looks like Matt Targett is back from injury. He is the fourth person enjoying a game of teqball alongside Bruno, Joelinton and Kieran Trippier.

Targett has been unavailable throughout pre-season, as he continued his recovery from an Achilles injury.

He has not played for Newcastle United since November 1st 2023. That was the Carabao Cup win over Manchester United that saw the 28-year-old substituted within the first minute. Targett was being trialled in central midfield that day, which was a very interesting experiment.

However, Howe never got to see the results, as Targett was forced off immediately. The £15million man underwent hamstring surgery and returned to the first-team squad in March 2024. He was on the bench for defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City, before Targett suffered another injury.

This time it was his Achilles, and Targett has only just been spotted back in training. He has not played for the Magpies in more than nine months, but appears to be closing in on a comeback.

Eddie Howe’s words have proven to be correct, as he recently told the media that Targett would return to training ahead of the Southampton game.

However, after such a lengthy absence, there is no way he will be in the squad to face the Saints. In truth, he may struggle to get back into the team, with Lewis Hall kicking on and Lloyd Kelly joining the club. Dan Burn can also play at left-back, which means Targett has tumbled down the Toon pecking order during his injury layoff.