· 4 September 2025, 12:30
**Newcastle United managed to clear the decks a bit during the summer transfer window, and one player that they managed to offload, at least temporarily, was the perennially injured Matt Targett.**
The curious case of Matthew Robert Targett is one we've covered many times on NUFCFEED. He's a player with definite quality which he proved to great effect in his first six months at the club when on loan from Aston Villa.
Targett was a key player in the Eddie Howe miracle months, where he took Newcastle from relegation certainties to an 11th placed finish. In fact, Targett was so good in that spell that Bruno Guimaraes interrupted a full-time interview with Targett to shout into the camera to sign him on a permanent basis.
That's exactly what Newcastle did, paying Villa £13 million to make his loan move permanent. And then the wheels came off. Since becoming a full blooded Newcastle United player in 2022, he's made just 31 appearances due to multiple injuries.
Matt Targett joined Middlesbrough on loan this summer
Matt Targett has huge ambitions at Middlesbrough
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When Target has featured, he's always looked decent, but his inability to stay fit was a huge issue. But it's something he's determined to put behind him now he's at Middlesbrough, whom he joined on loan this summer. Speaking to the [Northern Echo](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25439609.newcastles-matt-targett-middlesbrough-transfer/), Targett has laid down his intentions to get Boro back to the Premier League.
> "Absolutely. It's a chance for me to show what I can do as well and hopefully me showing what I can do helps the club to where they want to be. It's win-win," Targett said."The desire to play was massive. It's been a couple of years without regular football. Once Boro came up, I thought it was the right opportunity, I want to be back playing and enjoying my football again."For me it's one year and see what happens. Hopefully I play plenty of football. Like I said to the club when I came here, I'm here to get promoted."That's the aim, then we'll reassess at the end of the season. I had a good phone call with Rob (Edwards). He explained his ideas, how he sees me fitting into the team.
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> "Once I spoke to him it made my decision easy. The lads have started unbelievable as well."
If Matt Targett can stay fit he could earn a permanent move
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Boro sit at the top of the Championship after four games as the only side not to have dropped points in the second-tier.
It's clear that Targett has his eyes on a permanent switch, and the only thing that will realistically prevent that from happening now is another injury-hit season for the left-back.
We sincerely hope that he has a great season with Boro, not just because it will lead to his permanent departure from Newcastle, but we do genuinely want him to get his career back on track.