This post is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features personal comments from FLW Fan Pundits on breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more.
Matt Targett’s season-long loan from Newcastle United has been hailed as a “big positive,” with suggestions that the 30-year-old is “perfect” for Middlesbrough’s promotion bid.
According to The Northern Echo, the Magpies have announced that they have no plans to recall Targett from his loan term at Boro, despite an ongoing injury problem at St James’ Park, which has left the Premier League club with only four healthy senior defenders.
Dan Burn has been out for almost six weeks due to lung and rib ailments sustained during the Tyne-Wear Derby, and Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier are also absent.
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to see why there were some concerns about Targett’s prospective recall. According to Capology, Targett is Boro’s highest-paid player this season, earning £60k per week.
Matt Targett is “perfect” for Middlesbrough’s promotion chances.
Liam Day, FLW’s Middlesbrough Fan Pundit, believes Targett’s prolonged presence is a significant plus for the club’s promotion bid. Speaking about the situation, Day explained why the experienced defender’s availability is critical to Boro’s aspirations of returning to the Premier League.
“I certainly see it as a big positive that Matt Targett’s staying for the rest of the season,” Day told FLW at the time.
“He’s such a solid Championship player, he’s ideal for a team vying for promotion. He is dependable, and he is an excellent defender. Going forward, he’s not the best, but you have [Alex] Bangura to offset that,” Day said.
Bangura, of course, started in Kim Hellberg’s debut match in command of Boro against Derby County, marking his first competitive start in 22 months. It appears that the 37-year-old Swedish head coach has already struck a decent balance between the two.
Day then emphasized why he believes Targett’s importance goes far beyond his on-field performances. According to him: “Whilst I do think Bangura is likely to start more over Targett, having him in and around the squad – his leadership, experience – it’s all key really for a team that is fighting for promotion.”
Middlesbrough is encouraged to make more’smart signings’ in January.
When Targett first signed for Middlesbrough, our Fan Pundit reported that there was some early mistrust among Boro fans, but Day has urged Steve Gibson to make more’smart signings’ when the transfer market opens next month.
Day told FLW, “He [Targett] received some slack when he was signed. I never got it personally; I always felt it was a clever signing, and I believe we need more of that to get us over the finish line.”
Finishing with, “So, I’m very happy that he’s staying.”
These concluding comments show that the club’s summer recruitment strategy was successful, particularly in acquiring an established Championship player on loan from a Premier League team.
Although Day did not identify which aspects of the team he believes require’more’ top-flight experience, any prospective new Premier League players would undoubtedly give the present team an extra lift to finish the season in the top two.
Finally, with Targett confirmed as staying put and Bangura back in contention, Middlesbrough finally have adequate depth at left-back. Yes, Newcastle had every right to bring him back after their injury problem, but they clearly believe it is better for the 30-year-old to stay put.
It is unclear whether Hellberg intends to add in January, but the option has been mentioned by Day, and it may come up as a topic of discussion when the Swede meets with his recruitment team in the coming days.
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