Matt Targett's Newcastle United transfer says more about Aston Villa than himself

Having listened to Matt Targett's interview in which he discussed his reasons for joining Newcastle United, his explanations made a great deal of sense.

As the ink was drying on Lucas Digne's contract, Targett would have known instantly that his first-team chances were going to be limited because clubs seldom sign players of such reputation just for them to sit on the bench.

It meant the subsequent decision that Targett faced in the aftermath of Digne's arrival was a difficult one to take.

Stay and fight for your place or move to a club where you stand a better chance of playing.

As it turned out, Targett did not feel comfortable in sitting on the bench and picking up a wage when there would have been other players across the Premier League who would be happy to be paid handsomely for minimal input.

But in no way should his move to Newcastle be viewed as a slight on Villa or their head coach Steven Gerrard, who was keen for him to stay.

Instead, it is merely a reflection of Villa's ambition in the transfer market of which Targett was an unfortunate casualty.

Targett said himself that he couldn't quite believe Villa had landed a player of Digne's quality no doubt accepting that his time is effectively up as first-choice left-back.

There can be no dispute, however, that Targett is a good player and it was not long ago when he was being championed for a place in the England squad.

And if he is to realise those ambitions, then he is not going to do so by sitting among the substitutes every Saturday. You cannot begrudge a player for doing what he feels is best for his career.

Besides that, Digne has been widely regarded as one of the finest left-backs in the Premier League in recent seasons with his arrival at B6 being