On April 21st, after Matt Targett produced a typically tigerish performance in Newcastle United’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Athletic reporter Chris Waugh posted a poll on Twitter with a rather simple question; should the Magpies sign the Aston Villa loanee on a permanent transfer?
The answer, it’s fair to say, was a rather resounding one. 97 per cent of supporters voted ‘yes’.
And, as one Magpies fan quipped, the remaining three per cent either ‘haven’t got a clue’ or ‘must be a Mackem’. One suspects it will have come as a major surprise, then, to learn that Eddie Howe belongs not amongst the 97 per cent but amongst a tiny minority who harbour doubts around a player who has helped transform Newcastle’s season.
According to The Athletic, Newcastle are reserving judgement over the £15 million-rated former Southampton man with head of recruitment, Steve Nickson, scouring the market for potential alternatives.
Those alternatives, reports suggest, including Bayer Leverkusen’s Mitchell Bakker, Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic, Bologna’s Aaron Hickey and Atletico Madrid’s Renan Lodi. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Newcastle are willing to pay around £22 million for the latter.
Lodi, a buccaneering Brazil international, has scored four goals this season from left-back.
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It is no coincidence, either, that the aforementioned quartet are all far more comfortable in the final third than Targett. The 26-year-old has impressed with his defensive resilience since arriving on Tyneside. But Howe, a progressive, forward-thinking manager, demands more from his full-backs than an excellent positional sense and well-timed tackles.
The likes of Lodi and Hickey – scorer of five goals in 2021/22 – are arguably better suited to Howe’s preferred style of play than the stable if not spectacular Targett.
Last month, 90Min claimed that Leeds United, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were watching Targett’s situation closely. Leeds have never really replaced cult hero Gianni Alioski. Junior Firpo provides about as much security as one of those beaded doors your grandma had in the ‘80s.
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Leicester have struggled at left-back themselves this season, while Wolves will lose Fernando Marcal on a free transfer to Botafogo.
Letting Targett go – after a couple of highly impressive performances in black-and-white – would not be a popular decision at St James’ Park. But Eddie Howe is focussing not on winning popularity contests, but on building a side in his image.
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