1198 Matt Targett

Biography

Experienced left sided defender Matt Targett joined Hull City in July 2026 having played his most recent senior game against the Tigers in May 2026, for Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. He made his debut for Hull City off the bench on the first day of the season against Manchester United.

Matthew Robert Targett was born in Eastleigh, a railway town five miles north of Southampton. He joined the Southampton academy as a youngster and made his way through the year groups before signing his first professional contract in June 2013 – he signed a longer and more lucrative second contract with the Saints in December 2014. By then he had progressed from the Under-21 side, which he broke into in November 2012, to the fringes of the first team squad – he was an unused substitute for a September 2013 League Cup tie against Bristol City and a Premier League match against Everton in April 2014.

Matt made his senior debut for the Saints in an August 2014 League Cup tie against Millwall, in September 2014 he made his Premier League debut against Queens Park Rangers. He remained on the first team fringes for the rest of the 2014/15 season as Southampton finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League. In April 2015 he played in both legs as Southampton’s Under-21 side won the Premier League Cup, defeating the youngsters from Blackburn Rovers. Matt made his first appearance in European competition in July 2015, a Europa League qualifying tie against Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, and he remained around the first team for much of the season. A hamstring injury sidelined Matt for much of the 2016/17 season, he returned to action in May 2017 but continued to struggle for fitness in the first half of the 2017/18 season, making just two Premier League appearances in December 2017.

In January 2018 Targett joined Championship side Fulham on a half-season loan. His debut for Cottagers against Barnsley in January 2018 was swiftly followed a fortnight later by his first career senior goal against Bolton Wanderers. He finished his loan spell with three starts in the end of season play-offs that saw Fulham defeat Derby County and Aston Villa to win promotion to the Premier League – Targett returned to Southampton having scored one goal for Fulham in 21 appearances. The 2018/19 season saw Targett finally hold down a first team start for Southampton on a sustained basis, playing in twelve of fifteen Premier League matches between November 2018 and February 2019. When he briefly returned to the Saints first team in April 2019 he scored his first goal for the club against South Coast rivals Bournemouth. By June 2019 Matt’s contract at Southampton had expired and he left the club having scored one goal in 63 appearances across five seasons.

In July 2019 Targett joined newly promoted Premier League side Aston Villa for a fee reputedly in the region of £12 million. In September 2019 he made his Villa debut against Burnley and subsequently held down a first team shirt for the rest of the season, scoring his first Villa goal in October 2019 against Brighton & Hove Albion. He played in four rounds of Villa’s League Cup campaign that took them all the way to a Wembley final in March 2020 and defeat to Manchester City – Targett started the final having scored in the semi-final second leg victory over Leicester City. Matt started every Premier League fixture in the 2020/21 season as Villa finished in mid-table, having played the season behind closed doors due to the COVID19 pandemic. He kept his place for the first half of the 2021/22 season and by January 2022 his tally for Aston Villa had reached three goals in 89 appearances.

In January 2022 Matt joined Premier League side Newcastle United on a half season loan that was converted to a permanent transfer when a £15 million was paid by the Magpies in June 2022. Matt’s Newcastle debut came in February 2022 Everton and he immediately made the left back position his own. He kept his place for the first half of the 2022/23 season until a festive heel injury sidelined him for two months and he struggled to get back into the Newcastle first eleven when he recovered. Matt was an unused substitute at Wembley Stadium in February 2023 when Newcastle United lost the League Cup final to Manchester United. During the next two seasons a string of injuries sidelined him for long spells and he struggled for matchday action. By the end of the 2024/25 season Matt had made 47 appearances for the Magpies in four seasons.

In August 2025, with Matt entering the final season of his contract at Newcastle, he joined Championship side Middlesbrough on a season-long loan. Following his August 2025 debut against Sheffield United, Targett missed just one league match during the rest of the season and also contributed goals against Preston North End in September 2025, Derby County in November 2025 and a brace against Birmingham City in March 2026. He also played in all three of Boro’s end of season play-off matches against Southampton, who beat them, and Hull City at Wembley, who also beat them after Southampton were expelled from the competition. Targett ended the season with four goals in 46 appearances, after which his loan at Middlesbrough and his contract at Newcastle United both expired and he moved to Hull City.

Targett was eligible to play international football for Scotland through the nationality of a grandparent and in September 2013 he played for Scotland’s Under-19s against Iceland. That proved enough north of the border activity for Targett and he switched allegiance to England, making his Under-19s debut in November 2013 against Hungary and taking his tally to 5 appearances during the 2013/14 season. Between September and November 2014 Matt made 5 appearances for the England Under-20 side, debuting against Romania and scoring his first international goal against Portugal in November 2014. In March 2015 he was elevated to the England Under-21 side and made his debut at the level against Czechia. Over the next year and a half he took his Under-21 tally to 13 appearances – he was chosen for the 2015 Under-21 Euros squad but remained on the bench for all three of England’s June 2015 matches in that tournament. His final Under-21 appearance came in September 2016 against Norway, he was subsequently part of the squad for the 2017 Under-21 Euros squad but again remained on the bench for all four matches.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 18 September 1995, Eastleigh
Hull City First Game: 22 August 2026, Manchester United H (Premier League), 30 years, 338 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]

Clubs

Southampton (2011-2019), Fulham (2018, loan), Aston Villa (2019-2022), Newcastle United (2022, loan), Newcastle United (2022-2026), Middlesbrough (2025-2026, loan), Hull City (2026-current)

Hull City Record

Career: 3 apps, 0 goals