**Matt Targett has confirmed that he will leave Newcastle United in the summer following his loan spell at Middlesbrough.**
The former Aston Villa full-back had a fantastic start to life at Newcastle when he arrived on loan as part of Eddie Howe’s first transfer window.
Targett was instrumental in helping the Magpies avoid the drop, and even [Bruno Guimaraes made noises to tell the club to make his move permanent.](https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2022/05/17/bruno-guimaraes-sends-transfer-message-to-newcastle-owners/)
Eventually, a £13 million deal was struck, and Targett became a Newcastle player, but along with the contract came a raft of injury issues which massively disrupted his time on Tyneside.
A lot of time was spent on the sidelines, and fans were waiting for the club to cut its losses and move him on. Unfortunately, the best we could do was a loan move to Middlesbrough, where Targett has absolutely thrived.
He’s kept himself fit, got among the goals and helped Boro mount a promotion bid. But with the season coming to an end, Targett has addressed his future with his contract at Newcastle due to expire at the end of this season.
[Keith Downie posted some quotes from Targett on X](https://x.com/SkySports_Keith/status/2040012279568109680?s=20) on Friday, which confirmed that the 30-year-old is finished at Newcastle.
> _“It was really important to me that I could come here (Middlesbrough) and prove I can play a full season with no injuries._
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> _“I had a chat with Eddie (Howe) in January and he was so understanding about my situation, so I thank him for that. He knew it was beneficial for me…that I wanted to keep playing._
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> _“The future? I’m not sure to be honest. I believe I’m done at Newcastle so that chapter is closed._
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> _“Hopefully we get promoted here (at Boro) and there will be a contract for me…but if not I’ve played as much as I can this season so I’ll assess my options.”_
Newcastle were considering terminating Targett’s loan and bringing him back to the club in January during an intense defensive injury crisis.
That’s what sparked the talks between Targett and Howe, with the manager understanding the left-back’s position in wanting to stay where he was guaranteed game time. It was probably the right move for everyone.
We wish Targett all the best, and we’d like to see him and Middlesbrough back in the Premier League next season. Then they and Sunderland can have a little derby in our shadow – that barely even feels right after what Sunderland did to us this season, but we all know the hierarchy.