Newcastle United confirm loan signing of Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett

Aston Villa left-back and last season’s players’ player of the season, Matt Targett, has completed a loan move to Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

The 26-year-old quickly lost his place in the Villa starting eleven following the arrival of Lucas Digne from Everton and will now link up with the Magpies for the remainder of the campaign.

We want to hear from you: let us know what you think about this story and be part of the debate in our comments section below

At a glance: 5 key points

• Matt Targett has joined Newcastle United on loan for the remainder of the 21/22 season
• He becomes the third player to leave Villa Park on deadline day behind Kaine Kesler and Jed Steer
• Targett lost his place in the eleven following the arrival of Lucas Digne and leaves in search of more guaranteed game time
• The left-back was voted players’ player of the year just last season
• Targett joins the Magpies having played 19 games in all competitions this season for the claret & blue - scoring one goal and providing one assist

What’s been said

Matt Targett

“I’m delighted to be here. I can’t wait to get going and meet all the fans and hopefully we can have a successful end to the season.

“My family have friends here and they’ve always said it’s a football-mad city, so to experience it and be part of it - I’m really looking forward to it.”

Eddie Howe

“We have gone into this transfer window with a plan to add strong competition in specific areas of the team and Matt will be a fantastic option for us on the left.

“He has important Premier League experience and know-how at this level, so I’m really pleased we’ve been able to add him to the squad.”

Background

Matt Targett went into this campaign as Villa’s first choice left-back on the back of an incredibly successful 2020/21 season which saw him awarded players’ player of the year.

There’s no denying his performances haven’t been at the level that they were this time last season but it’s still a transfer that would have been hard to imagine just a matter of months ago.

The 26-year-old has made 89 appearances for Villa since his arrival in 2019, scoring three goals and providing five assists in that time.

Good luck, Matty.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and keep the conversation going.