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Newcastle injury blow may ruin summer transfer plans
Newcastle United welcomed back defender Sven Botman over the weekend in their Premier League victory over Ipswich Town, after the Dutchman underwent surgery to repair a knee injury.
However, Eddie Howe has confirmed that another defender has suffered a potential season-ending injury as Matt Targett battles a hamstring issue, which could have huge repercussions beyond the remaining games.
The forgotten full-back has become surplus to requirements on Tyneside and, as a result, has had his game time limited with Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Dan Burn all trusted ahead of Targett on the left flank of the defensive set-up.
The Newcastle boss spoke to NUFC TV ahead of the clash at St James’ Park on Saturday to confirm Targett’s absence:
“We lost Matt Targett this week to a hamstring problem.”
“Again, nothing serious but enough, maybe, to end his season.”
The 29-year-old has endured multiple injury issues over the last 18 months, tallying up just seven appearances and only 334 minutes played this season in all competitions.
It is no secret that the Magpies have been open to the sale of Targett, with Leeds United reportedly close to agreeing a deal to sign him back in January, and it is expected that the club will attempt to offload once again this summer.
Having said that, his latest injury does not put Newcastle in a strong position to sell him if his recovery leaks into pre-season and their opportunities to part ways with Targett could become extremely limited.
Should Newcastle sell Matt Targett?
There is no doubt that Newcastle will need significant depth to compete at the ambitious levels they are aiming for next season, as adding European football to their fixture list could take it’s toll on Howe’s small squad.
For this reason, sporting director Paul Mitchell will have a busy summer in the transfer market and will need to identify the right targets to fill out key areas of the squad.
Accumulating the wealth to attract high-quality additions will be important and Mitchell’s groundwork in boosting transfer funds has already been ruthless with the sale of Miguel Almiron in January, while Lloyd Kelly’s half-season loan at Juventus includes a £20m obligation to buy.
Offloading further deadwood would only put Newcastle in a more advantageous position when approaching targets in the summer, so if there is potential to sell a player who isn’t trusted by the manager in the first team, it would make perfect sense.
While Targett has had his moments in black and white stripes, there has not been enough from him in the last two seasons to justify keeping him in the squad if Champions League becomes a reality for Newcastle next season.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Newcastle can attract genuine interest for Targett this summer, his injury record will be a huge red flag for clubs looking to invest in their defensive set up.
