Axed by Howe: £9m-rated ace's days surely numbered at NUFC with replacement found - opinion

Matt Targett was only added to the Newcastle United team on loan but that could spell long term danger for Jamal Lewis. 

In the January transfer market, Aston Villa pulled off a surprise move for Lucas Digne when he fell out of favour at Everton. After completing the deal, they had a left-back they didn’t need.

So, Newcastle swooped and signed Targett on loan and since then he’s been the number one choice for the Magpies at fullback.

And, even though his deal will only keep him to the club until the end of the season, considering his current form, it seems like NUFC may be tempted to make that move a permanent one in the summer.

Interestingly, it’s been claimed that the money is there for Newcastle to complete a deal for the defender in the summer.

So let’s compare him with the man he’s keeping out of the team.

It certainly does seem as though Targett has hit the ground running at his new club. Indeed, according to WhoScored ratings, he is the third-highest ranked January transfer signing behind fellow teammate Kieran Trippier and then Liverpool ace Luis Diaz.

When comparing him directly with Lewis (via FBREF), across both players’ domestic league careers, Targett seems to be the more dangerous fullback from an attacking sense. The Villa loanee has four goals and 11 assists in 147 senior outings, while the Northern Ireland man has one goal and five assists in 121 games.

This attacking ability is reflected in Targett’s superior shot-creating actions per game, as well as the fact that he attempts more passes, and also sometimes takes corner kicks – Lewis never takes corners.

After the influx of new signings like Targett and Trippier, Lewis was actually left out of the Newcastle squad for the remainder of the season –