Insider: Future of 'huge' Eddie Howe signing at Newcastle is already 'up in the air'

‘It doesn’t seem likely’ that Matt Targett will be at Newcastle United next season, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

In January, the 26-year-old sealed a loan move from Aston Villa to St James’ Park until the end of the season. He was one of five players signed by Eddie Howe in January, along with Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood.

The Shields Gazette have reported that Newcastle will have the option to purchase the left-back in the summer for a fee of around £15m.

Jones has said that Targett’s future is uncertain, but as it stands, the journalist doesn’t think that it lies at St James’ Park.

He told GiveMeSport: “Matt Targett’s future is up in the air at the moment. There is a possibility that he will join Newcastle but, at the moment, it doesn’t seem likely.”

This is certainly a surprising revelation from Jones, as you would think that both parties would be keen on extending Targett’s stay on Tyneside.

It may well be best for the 26-year-old to leave Aston Villa permanently following their £25m January signing of Lucas Digne, who also plays in his position, while Howe has selected him every time he has been available in the Premier League.

In those seven games, he has averaged 2.9 clearances, 1.9 key passes (a team-high) and 1.9 tackles per match. Strikingly, his overall WhoScored rating of 6.98/10 is the fourth-highest in the squad.

Indeed, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher believes that Targett represents a ‘huge’ improvement on what has come before at Newcastle, so losing him would feel like a big setback for Howe and co.

In other news, this injured Newcastle duo are joining their team-mates in Dubai this week

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