Newcastle United are short of fit senior defenders, entering a busy February with a concerning lack of depth.
Dan Burn may be back from a rib/lung issue, but Sven Botman missed Saturday’s game with a knock, Tino Livramento will be out for another five weeks, Fabian Schar is sidelined until April, Emil Krafth remains out and Jamaal Lascelles is on the verge of joining Leicester.
At Liverpool, our only available senior defenders were 35-year-old Kieran Trippier, Malick Thiaw, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall and Alex Murphy, who came on late to protect a visibly fatigued Hall.
With this in mind, Eddie Howe admitted after the game that Newcastle would have discussions with Matt Targett regarding his potential return from a loan spell at Middlesbrough.
A few days on, a decision has been made on that deal, with The Mail’s Craig Hope revealing today that the left-back will NOT be recalled.
Targett is out of contract this summer and would only be used as cover for Hall had he returned, and it seems the club have allowed him to remain on Teesside, where he is starting regularly and hoping to gain promotion with Boro.
Hope reveals that Newcastle have respected Targett’s wishes, despite our worrying lack of full-back cover, reporting that the 30-year-old is expected to sign permanently at the Riverside at the end of the 2025/26 season.