No sign of £15m player in Newcastle United training ahead of Manchester City

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Eddie Howe is weighing up which Newcastle United players to pick to face Manchester City on Saturday.

It is going to be an extremely difficult game for Newcastle United, even if Manchester City will be without Rodri due to injury.

This game comes on the back of Newcastle’s awful performance against Fulham, and Eddie Howe needs a response.

He also needs to figure out his best team, with various Toon players pushing to start against the Premier League champions this weekend.

Defender not spotted in Newcastle training ahead of Manchester City game on Saturday

However, one player who does not look set to be involved is Matt Targett.

A selection of training photos have been posted to Newcastle United’s official website ahead of the Manchester City game, with the likes of Harvey Barnes, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali preparing to take on Pep Guardiola’s side.

There is understandably no Callum Wilson, who is yet to appear this season with a back injury and subsequent hamstring issue. It has been reported that Wilson could return for the Brighton game. Elsewhere, Lewis Miley is also still out of action due to injury.

But the other senior player who does not feature in any of the training photos is Matt Targett.

The £15million defender has not been spotted, despite returning to fitness at the start of the season.

Matt Targett’s Newcastle United frustrations continue

Targett actually started the season on the Newcastle United bench. He was an unused substitute in the Magpies’ first four games, after recovering from an Achilles problem.

Targett had hoped to feature against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup, but did not play.

His only minutes this season have come at youth level, with the 29-year-old playing the first half of Newcastle Under-21s’ 1-1 draw with Sunderland back in August.

While Targett did return to fitness, he is suddenly conspicuous by his absence. The left-back was not on the bench for the games against Wolves and Fulham, and the fear will be that he has picked up another problem.

Targett has had so many issues since becoming a permanent Newcastle United player in the summer of 2022. Last season was an absolute nightmare, with Targett only managing seven appearances in all competitions.