Aston Villa Upgrade Their Full-back Options After Completing Signing

Villa on Targett

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Southampton left-back Matt Targett, after being linked with the player for a few weeks now. The fee is thought to be in the region of an £11.5m with add-ons potentially taking it to £14m and beyond.

The 23-year-old had previously been looked at by Liverpool and Arsenal recently, and had been a target for Fulham last season, whom he played on loan for in their promotion season, lining up against Villa at Wembley in the Play-Off Final.

Targett had been playing second fiddle at the Saints to Ryan Bertrand, so the move to Villa was logical for the player to kick-on. He’ll be seen as a potential upgrade on Neil Taylor.

He’s solid in defence, a tidy passer and has a decent crossed delivery. Perhaps the only question mark is he’s not the quickest full-back.

While Targett only started 13 times for the Saints last season, his highest amongst of starts during his time at Southampton (which he matched in the 2015/16 season), he certainly impressed as a Fulham regular in the loan spell during the later half of their promotion campaign of the 2017/18 season.

Beyond the usual “it’s a big club” rhetoric, Targett highlighted Dean Smith’s style of play as an enticing factor in joining Villa.

“The gaffer likes to play good football, exciting, attacking football and that’s a really good fit for me. It’s perfect for me,” said Targett, during an interview for the club’s website.

“To play the style the gaffer wants to play, I’m excited about it.”

Smith Sorted

Targett’s arrival now means Dean Smith will have sorted out his full-back options for the season ahead. With Frédéric Guilbert, Ahmed Elmohamady and James Bree on the right, while Targett, Taylor and Kortney Hause will cover the left-hand side.

UTV