Newcastle United have made left-back Matt Targett their first signing of the summer on a permanent deal from Aston Villa.
Targett played a starring role on Tyneside in Newcastle 's climb up the Premier League table, with Eddie Howe's side going from relegation favourites to an 11th place finish.
The 26-year-old played every minute of Newcastle's season following his loan move to St James' Park bar the 90 minutes against parent club Villa.
Targett, alongside January signing Dan Burn, helped shore up the left hand flank of Newcastle's defence, making it easy to see why the Magpies were so keen on signing the defender on a permanent deal.
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The fee for the Villa defender is believed to be around £12m, which seems a great deal for Newcastle. In Targett, they are getting a proven Premier League defender with a good delivery.
The deal was completed on Wednesday afternoon and is a smart signing and one that Howe was clearly keen on making.
Prior to Newcastle final game of the Premier League season, Howe was hugely complimentary of Targett during his loan spell, hailing the left-back's attitude, conduct and consistency.
“He’s been outstanding," Howe said prior to Newcastle's 2-1 win over Burnley on the final day of the season.
"I think the biggest compliment I can pay any loan player is for me, I view him as an integral member of the squad. His attitude, conduct, performances, consistency have been at the highest level.
“We really, really like him. I think he’s gelled with the squad and I think he's very popular within the building here so I can't speak highly enough of him."
Targett's signing should allow Newcastle to focus on spending the majority of their summer budget on other positions. Atletico Madrid full-back Renan Lodi was linked with a move to Tyneside but would likely have cost double that of Targett's fee.
And it's a move that Targett was clearly keen to make too.
Following Newcastle's 2-0 win over Arsenal in their home finale, the defender said: "I said it a few weeks ago, the fans have been incredible. I've loved every single minute of it, it's been an incredible place to play my football and I've loved every second of it.
"I think everyone knows what I want but it's up to the club. It's a massive project, an exciting project and I'm sure everyone wants to be a part of it."
