At this moment in time, Matt Targett has 14 more games as a Newcastle United player.
The left-back joined the Magpies on transfer deadline day, agreeing a loan move from Aston Villa for the rest of the season.
Newcastle were embroiled in the Lucas Digne transfer saga, and they might be the inadvertent winners of it. His Villa move forced Targett out of the club, and into the arms of Eddie Howe and Newcastle.
He’s made two appearances so far, and performed brilliantly in both. It would’ve been three performances, but he wasn’t allowed to feature in the 1-0 win over his parent club.
Targett’s performances at left-back have been fantastic to watch, and he’s a player who hopefully has a long term future at St James’ Park.
Matt Targett is proving he should be a permanent Magpie
Signing players was slightly tricky in January. Some teams didn’t want to sell, while other players weren’t keen given our position in the table.
But the loan move for Targett made sense. It got him the minutes he wanted, while he wouldn’t be stuck at Newcastle if we suffered relegation.
It currently looks like we’re on course to beat the drop – unbeaten in six games and four points clear of the bottom three. Our form has improved drastically, with the new January arrivals playing a key role.
Kieran Trippier has stolen the headlines with his goals, but Targett deserves a lot of praise on the other side of defence.
Fullbacks are important to the way Howe wants to play football, and Targett is capable of delivering the style he wants.
He’s energetic up and down the flank, but is predominantly solid defensively. That’s the most important thing.
He’s not known for his attacking, but is capable of getting into dangerous positions. He did it on Saturday to great effect, playing a role in Joe Willock’s equaliser. He also nullified the in form Jarrod Bowen, which is no easy task right now.
Targett is a defender who can deal with a maverick in front of him. He did it with Jack Grealish at Villa, and now he’s doing it with Allan Saint-Maximin at Newcastle.
PIF’s first summer signing for Newcastle is obvious
When the season ends, Targett will return to Villa, but hopefully not for long. Rather than find an alternative, possibly higher profile, left-back, Newcastle must sign the 26-year-old permanently.
He’s already fitting in brilliantly at the club, and can surely get even better.
Newcastle are going to be linked with plenty of players this summer, but it’s clear that our first signing must be a permanent deal for Matt Targett.
He cost Villa an initial £11.5million in 2019, and you’d imagine they’ll want more than that in 2022. Newcastle have the money, and should pay whatever it takes to keep Targett in the North East.