Newcastle could approach Aston Villa over a permanent deal for Matt Targett 'sooner rather than later', according to journalist Jordan Cronin. 

The lowdown

On transfer deadline day last month, Newcastle completed a deal to bring the left-back to St James' Park on loan for the remainder of the season.

He was ineligible for the visit of his parent club on 13 February, but he has played the full 90 minutes in the Magpies' other two games this month - the victory against Everton and the draw with West Ham last weekend.

Targett won numerous plaudits for his display at the London Stadium, with journalist Josh Bunting describing him as 'calm and confident in his defensive duties', and The Times' Henry Winter adding that the 26-year-old looks like a 'very good' signing.

The defender's Villa contract still has nearly three-and-a-half years left to run, though, and he is valued at £15.3m by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Cronin praised Targett's weekend contribution in an article for Newcastle World which he subsequently shared via his Twitter profile.

The journalist tweeted: "If Matt Targett keeps this form up then #NUFC will be calling #AVFC about a permanent deal sooner rather than later."

The verdict

Only goalscorer Joe Willock (7.6/10) earned a higher SofaScore rating than Targett (7.4) in the Newcastle ranks on Saturday. He won all three of his ground duels - with no West Ham player able to dribble past him during the game - and also created three chances.

It's no surprise that a permanent move is being mooted off the back of this impressive performance, and Newcastle should be optimistic in that regard given that Villa paid £25m to sign another left-back in Lucas Digne last month, which duly saw Targett drop down the pecking order in the Midlands.

In other news, Luke Edwards has the latest on Allan Saint-Maximin