Matt Targett made a January move to Newcastle and has already helped bolster Eddie Howe’s defence.
Speaking to TalkSPORT at 09.38am on Wednesday 16th February, Targett spoke about the role Aston Villa’s capture of Lucas Digne played in his loan exit.
Newcastle actually targeted Digne before he made the move to Villa Park, but that swoop allowed Howe to pick up Targett late in the window.
“I was quite surprised when Aston Villa signed a left-back as good as Lucas Digne,” he said.
“I’m not the sort of player that is happy to sit around and I realised then I’d have to leave.”
Everton let Digne go mid-season because he had a falling out with Rafa Benitez but then sacked the Spaniard not long after anyway.
Frank Lampard would no doubt dearly love to have Digne but that is Steven Gerrard’s prerogative now and Targett is already impressing at Newcastle.
He was not eligible to play against his parent club on Sunday, but Kieran Trippier’s injury likely means Javier Manquillo will move back to right-back, leaving Targett clear to establish himself for the rest of the season.
Fair play to him for not messing around and getting it sorted so that he can get out and play regularly between now and the end of the season.
That is to Newcastle’s benefit as Howe tries to channel the momentum of three straight wins as well as navigating the injury of Trippier, who has become something of a talisman already.
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