Targett signed a season-long agreement when he joined Boro from Newcastle United in the summer, but the terms of the deal featured a recall clause that enabled the Magpies to bring the 30-year-old’s time on Teesside to a premature end.
The initial deadline for that clause to be triggered was extended to deadline day in the middle of the month, with the Magpies’ defensive injury problems meaning Eddie Howe consistently refused to rule out recalling Targett in order to increase his options at both left-back and centre-half.
Targett repeatedly stressed his desire to remain with Middlesbrough, and Howe always regarded recalling the defender as a last resort, but Hellberg still had to work with the rest of Boro’s recruitment team to assess potential last-minute replacements in case Newcastle shifted their stance at any stage ahead of Monday-night’s deadline.
Thankfully, there was no need to pursue a replacement as Targett was not recalled, but Hellberg it was a stressful month with the full-back’s fate out of Boro’s hands.
“I was not always confident because we didn’t control that one,” said the Boro boss, whose side return to action tomorrow when they head to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United. “We knew they [Newcastle] could recall him if they maybe got more injuries or something like that.
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“I was always a bit worried about that one. But happily, he’s here, and now they cannot recall him, so I’m very happy for that.”
Targett has rapidly become an extremely important member of Boro’s first-team group, starting all bar one of the club’s last 26 league games.
His positional versatility was crucial over the festive period as he filled in at both centre-half and left-back, and in the absence of the injured Alex Bangura, he has subsequently cemented a starting berth on the left of the back four.
His leadership qualities could be crucial as Boro head into the final three months of the season hoping to secure promotion, while his experience should enable him to act as an ideal mentor for 20-year-old left-back Fin Munroe, who moved to Teesside at the start of last month.
“It’s brilliant we have him to do that,” said Hellberg. “Matt is a very good person that wants to help and is involved in that. “For Fin, I cannot see a better left-back to learn from. And I also think Fin and Matt are quite similar in the way they play, they both have a very good left foot.
“It's going to be very interesting. And again, I’m very happy to have Matt here. I think he's shown everyone that he's trying to do everything for the club and for his team-mates. I’m very happy to have him here.”