Newcastle make first Deadline Day signing
Robin Bairner
- 31 Jan 2022 12:16 CST
- 3 min read
Newcastle have completed their first January transfer Deadline Day signing by securing the loan of Aston Villa defender Matt Targett on a loan deal.
The Toon have been seeking to strengthen many areas of their team in January but have had a hard time getting deals over the line.
This has continued to be the case on the final day of the January transfer window, with a switch for Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard apparently breaking down, while the club have also failed to land promising French striker Hugo Ekitike from Reims.
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They have, however, managed to strengthen their options at left-back by landing 26-year-old Targett, who has more than a century of Premier League matches behind him.
Speaking to Newcastle’s official website, the defender said: “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 there 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.”
✍️ #NUFC are delighted to announce the signing of Matt Targett on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season!
⚫️⚪️— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 31, 2022
Howe on Targett
Manager Eddie Howe explained why he moved for Targett.
“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 said.
“He has important Premier League experience and know-how at this level, so I’m please we’ve been able to add him to the squad.”
Although a raft of new faces was expected at Newcastle this month, Targett becomes just their fourth addition of the window.
He joins Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood and Bruno Guimaraes as new faces at St James’ Park, although the club will doubtless be pushing to strengthen more in the final hours before the deadline.
