Leicester City 'hold an interest' in Aston Villa man as Newcastle could face transfer race

Leicester City are one of three Premier League teams to show an interest in Aston Villa full-back Matt Targett, according to reports.

The left-back is currently on loan with Newcastle United until the end of the season, after joining the club in the January window. The Magpies are keen to make the move permanent in the summer for a reported fee of around £15million.

Targett has played a total of 12 times for Eddie Howe’s side since swapping Villa Park for St James’ Park in the winter window. He played the full 90 minutes of Newcastle’s 2-1 win over City earlier this month.

City are now said to be showing an interest in a potential move for the 26-year-old when the summer transfer window opens. 90min report that City, along with Wolves are the other two clubs to "hold an interest" in the defender.

The report claims that Targett "favours" a stay on Tyneside, making the Magpies the favourites to complete a summer transfer.

Brendan Rodgers currently has two recognised left-backs in his squad in Luke Thomas and Ryan Bertrand. The latter is out until the end of the season with a knee injury picked up in the warm-up ahead of the Boxing Day clash vs Manchester City.

Timothy Castagne, James Justin and Ricardo Pereira are also able to play at left-back, but the trio are more naturally right-sided players. It means that City could possibly be in the market for a left-sided defender this summer.

Speaking about the future of Targett earlier this month, Howe said that the full-back had fitted well into his squad. “Matt’s done very well,” he said.

“There are still games to be played this season and opinions to be fully formed but I think he’s performed really well. He’s fit into the team very well, he’s been very consistent with