Club reporter reveals if clause exists in loan deal & likelihood of Matt Targett signing permanently

Matt Targett's loan move from Aston Villa does NOT include an option to buy clause - however it seems a permanent move to Tyneside could still be on the cards.

This is the view of The Athletic's Chris Waugh, who believes there is a "very good chance" Eddie Howe will pursue a deal for the 26-year-old this summer if he continues to perform as well as he has so far in a black and white shirt.

The North-East reporters also feels the player himself would be "very, very keen" on a summer move to St James' Park, with him recently suggesting that Lucas Digne's £25m arrival at Villa Park was an ominous one with regards to his game time under Steven Gerrard.

When asked if we have an option to sign the left-back on the latest episode of the Pod On The Tyne podcast, here's what Waugh had to say:

"Our understanding is that there isn't a clause in the deal to be able to sign him permanently, at this stage in terms of a pre-agreed fee.

"Part of the reason, from the Villa end, is that if Newcastle want to sign him it makes more sense for villa to wait until the summer, because if they agreed a price now he may have actually been worth more in the summer.

"I think it's a little too early to say now, but Howe wanted him and wanted him for a reason and I do think that he wants an upgrade at left-back and a different type of left-back to what he had previously.

"If he keeps performing like this, there's a very good chance Newcastle will ty to make it a permanent.

"Targett himself has said if Aston Villa are signing Lucas Digne he's not going to be playing every week, so I think he'd be very very keen on that as well."

Chris is right - it's still very early days - but the initial signs suggest Targett could be worthy of a permanent move to St James' Park; even if we do stay up.

He barely put a foot wrong on his debut - a 3-1 win over Everton - and was outstanding in Saturday's 1-1 draw at West Ham, keeping Jarrod Bowen quiet with a series of blocks, well timed tackles and tight marking.

Based on what we've seen so far, would you like to see him sign on a permanent deal this summer?