Family friends on Tyneside had already prepared Matt Targett for what to expect if Newcastle United ever came calling again, but the left-back was still an Aston Villa player when he travelled home to Eastleigh last weekend.
However, Targett then got a call on Sunday night to say that Newcastle had agreed a loan deal with Villa and, before he knew it, Eddie Howe was phoning the defender to tell him that he was 'looking forward to working' with him.
Although Targett had previously stopped short of travelling to the North East when Rafa Benitez previously came in for him, in 2017, the 26-year-old felt ready this time around - even if the timing of the move took him and cousin Brian Howard a little by surprise.
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"I was actually with him at the weekend," the former Barnsley midfielder told ChronicleLive. "Matty came home because he didn't have a game and all the family went to watch Eastleigh together.
"We've got quite a big family and it's a close family. Matty's just so down to earth. At the weekend, he went back to watch some of his old mates play. You wouldn't think you were sat there with a Premier League footballer. He was just one of the lads.
"But, even then, we didn't think the move was going to happen so it really came out of the blue on Sunday night."
So why have Newcastle turned to Targett? Well, Howe had long identified the full-back department as an area to strengthen, having had to resort to playing converted wingers Jacob Murphy and Matt Ritchie at the back against Man City only seven weeks ago.
Right-back Kieran Trippier was signed in the first week of January but Targett only became available later in the window after Villa boss Steven Gerrard was prepared to allow him to go out on loan following the arrival of Lucas Digne from Everton.
Jamal Lewis may have previously impressed, before suffering a hamstring injury in December, but Howe has perhaps showed his ruthless side after leaving the Northern Ireland international out of his 25-man squad.
The reality is that Targett has simply played more games than Lewis in the last 12 months - the left-back was the only outfield player who started every match for Villa last season - and Howe has, tellingly, pointed to his 'important Premier League experience and know-how at this level'.
As well as making 127 appearances in the top-flight for Villa and Southampton, Targett has already been involved in a relegation dogfight, himself, after staying up with the former on the last day of the season in 2020.
Targett has worked hard on the defensive side of his game since then - those efforts were recognised by his peers as he voted Villa's players' player of the season last year - and his 63.4% tackle completion rate put him in the top 10 for those who managed at least 50 tackles in the top-flight in 2020-21.
Going forward, too, Targett helps to build attacks down the left-hand side and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Andy Robertson and Aaron Cresswell are the only regulars at full-back who have averaged more progressive passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.
Targett, like Kieran Trippier, will be able to get Newcastle up the pitch with his ability to calmly pick out a team-mate and former Southampton boss Claude Puel has backed the 26-year-old to make a big contribution in that regard.
"I think it's a good opportunity for Newcastle if Newcastle play football and he has the ability with his other team-mates to build the play," Puel told ChronicleLive.
"Because if it's just to defend without giving a good collective, a good ability to play together, he's not the player for Newcastle.
"But if they play football, he's a very interesting player."
Targett has developed a lot since those days at Southampton and the former England under-21 international came back a different player at Villa after the first lockdown in 2020.
The defender had a series of Zoom meetings with Dean Smith, Villa's manager at the time, and assistant John Terry and became a stronger and more consistent performer as he began to push himself more.
Howe, a long-term admirer, will already be well-aware of Targett's thirst to improve - which was even apparent during his time at Southampton's academy.
While former Southampton under-18s boss Jason Todd was keen to highlight Targett's 'beautiful left foot', it was the youngster's desire to 'learn and to get better' that stood out the most.
"There was nothing necessarily outstanding about Matthew - he just did all the little things well," the former Southampton left-back told ChronicleLive.
"If you said to him, 'Let's go and do a psychology session' or 'I want to work on your balls into the box', he would be out there ready.
"He would be listening and he wanted to progress so, from a coaching point of view, it was brilliant.
"We knew he had some weaknesses, as most players do, but he was willing to go, 'What can I do to get better?'
"Myself and Willo [assistant Paul Williams] were defenders so we were able to give our input, but they've got to want to do it and someone like Matty certainly did."
Targett is still the same unassuming figure he was during his time at Southampton and keeps in touch with his former academy team-mates, including Omar Rowe, who told ChronicleLive 'he's still humble', to this day.
There is almost a refreshing innocence to Targett, a boyhood Liverpool fan, who was even a little star struck when Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho walked into the Villa dressing room for the first time.
Few are better placed to give an insight into that side of Targett's character than lifelong friend and former Southampton team-mate Jake Flannigan, who even went to the same primary school.
"He's not really changed," Flannigan told ChronicleLive. "I still often wonder what he would be doing if he wasn't a footballer!
"He takes a while to come out of his shell, Matt. He needs to be comfortable within his group around him. He's definitely improved as he's got older, but he was always the quieter one off the pitch.
"On the pitch, he was confident but, as a person, he's a quieter guy but he would come out with funny things every so often, just quiet bits of banter."
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