Newcastle can seal big Targett upgrade with "eye-watering" move for "class" £30m star - opinion

Newcastle United underwent a rather significant overhaul during the previous January transfer window.

The Magpies secured deals for players such as Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes among others.

One other player that joined the club in this period that they didn’t have to travel far to secure is Matt Targett.

Originally joining on a loan deal from fellow Premier League club Aston Villa, the left-back became Newcastle’s first permanent signing of the current summer transfer window earlier this month.

During his period with the Toon last season, the full-back made 16 appearances in the Premier League, completing the full 90 minutes in all of them.

This highlights how important he quickly became for the Magpies.

Despite all of this, the remainder of the current summer window could give the Tyneside club the chance to secure what may well be an upgrade on the Englishman.

One other player in the Premier League that the Toon have been linked with recently is Brighton & Hove Albion defender Marc Cucurella.

After joining the Seagulls in the summer transfer window of 2021, the Spaniard went on to have a decent debut season with Graham Potter’s side.

With 35 league appearances to his name, the left-back played more minutes than any other outfield player at the club.

To compare his season with Targett’s, the Brighton star racked up more shots at goal, successful dribbles and shot-creating actions than the Englishman.

From a defensive point of view, Cucurella also won more tackles, made more successful pressures and made more blocks and interceptions than the Toon defender.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see why fellow Brighton defender Lewis Dunk labelled the full-back as a “class act,” and why journalist Andy