Matt Targett did not think his loan move to Newcastle United was going to happen at one point earlier this year. Targett told friends and family as much while back home in Eastleigh but, 36 hours later, the Aston Villa left-back was on his way to Tyneside on deadline day to join the Magpies.
There was not quite so much uncertainty when it came to Targett's permanent deal this summer. In fact, before Newcastle's final game of last season, at Burnley, Targett was one of the first players to learn his fate when Eddie Howe sat him down and told the 26-year-old he wanted to sign him.
Yet, in football, nothing is ever set in stone. Targett, after all, had been surprised by Aston Villa's decision to sign fellow left-back Lucas Digne last January and the defender had already admitted that Newcastle could 'go and get anyone they want' last month.
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Newcastle's recruitment team had compiled a list of left-backs, as they do with every position, and Atletico Madrid defender Renan Lodi was a player on the club's radar. However, tellingly, ChronicleLive understands there was 'nothing concrete' and 'no offers'. The feeling within Lodi's camp was that, with Atletico Madrid not desperate to sell, Newcastle did not have the 'necessary confidence' to dedicate such a substantial proportion of the budget to sign the Brazil international.
Newcastle, after all, are bidding to bring in several players this summer while complying with the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations. The reality is that Lodi, a title winner, could have commanded a fee potentially three times as much as the £12m Newcastle paid Aston Villa to make Targett's move permanent after the Magpies already spent £3m to sign the left-back on loan last season.
Most importantly, Targett had already proved his worth, having played every minute of every game he was available in during his loan spell. Newcastle may be signing more players on the continent this summer, but Targett's Premier League experience will be invaluable as someone who can again hit the ground running. Even fellow full-back Kieran Trippier has not made as many top-flight appearances as Targett (142).
Trippier may offer more going forward on the opposite flank - Targett did not register a single goal or assist for Newcastle last season - but the left-back's quiet consistency and defensive solidity have been crucial. Targett has provided balance in that sense, repeatedly covering for Allan Saint-Maximin on the left-hand side, and played an important role in Newcastle becoming a more comfortable team on the ball.
Despite only arriving mid-season, just six Newcastle players had more touches than Targett (938) while only three of his team-mates completed more passes (568). Depending on the situation in the game, Targett can help Newcastle either retain possession when Howe's side are looking to take the sting out of the game or get his side up the field quickly when they are going in search of a goal as he did in the build-up to Bruno Guimaraes' late winner against Leicester in April.
At 26, too, Targett will not increase the average age of the squad and the coaching staff believe that his best years are ahead of him hence why the left-back has become just the second player, alongside Bruno, to be handed a long-term contract by the club's new owners.
Although this was still a huge decision for Targett, who has a tight-knit family unit back home in Eastleigh on the South Coast, this was the most straightforward deal Newcastle will do this summer after the Magpies already had an option to make the left-back's move permanent. Rather than this being a saga, like the Joe Willock situation last summer, Newcastle took up that option before the window even opened and tied the defender down for another four years.
The move has gone down well in the Newcastle dressing room, where Targett is nicknamed 'Tigs', and with supporters to boot, who chanted 'There's only one Matt Targett' during the Magpies' final home game of last season. Whereas some outsiders over the years have been cowed by the passion of the fan base, Targett has embraced it after being given an inkling of what to expect by family friends on Tyneside before he moved up.
The unassuming Targett has quickly grasped what it means to play for the club and regularly made time for supporters when off duty, whether he is having a meal out, playing crazy golf or catching a flight. Friend Jake Hesketh is well-placed to comment on that, having known Targett since he was seven, and has described his former Southampton team-mate as 'that same kid that's been there all along'.
"Everyone took to him so well," he told ChronicleLive. "He's a bit oblivious. It's funny. He is what he is. He's not your typical footballer in how he speaks and how he carries himself.
"You take it for granted a little bit. He's made it almost look straightforward. He just went and played. It's kind of undervalued how hard it is.
"He's got plenty of experience behind him and he's at a great age to go and kick on now to go and play some really good football in what looks a hell of a good period of time to be at Newcastle."
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