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Southampton: Fulham looking to sign Targett permanently

By Chris Hughes

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 26: Matt Targett of Fulham, Cyrus Christie of Fulham, and Ryan Fredericks of Fulham celebrate with the trophy following their sides victory in the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final between Aston Villa and Fulham at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 26: Matt Targett of Fulham, Cyrus Christie of Fulham, and Ryan Fredericks of Fulham celebrate with the trophy following their sides victory in the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final between Aston Villa and Fulham at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images) /
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Today the promoted side have once again been linked with signing their on-loan left-back on a permanent basis from Southampton.

Matt Targett has shone in the Championship since joining Fulham on loan at the turn of the year, earning promotion to the top flight with the Cottagers through the playoffs as a result.

Today the Mirror have once again linked the London side with a permanent move for the full-back, who had previously struggled to make an impact with the Saints.

At times Targett looked void of confidence and in the attacking third Ryan Bertrand was far more effective, leaving the Englishman without much room to grow into the player many suspected he could be.

Now however, playing down the same side as Ryan Sessegnon, Targett has thrived into an impressive young left-back, as despite being around the first team since Ronald Koeman’s era, he remains only 22-years-old.

Next: Ryan Bertrand comments on England snub

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Matt Targett of Fulham in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Fulham and Queens Park Rangers at Craven Cottage on March 17, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: Matt Targett of Fulham in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Fulham and Queens Park Rangers at Craven Cottage on March 17, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

With both Ryan Bertrand and Sam McQueen’s futures in doubt, losing Targett could be a costly mistake especially to a fellow Premier League side. The former has been consistently linked with moves to some of the league’s bigger teams for much of the last two seasons, whereas Sam McQueen has strongly been linked with Bristol City since campaign’s end.

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However it was reported earlier in the year that Southampton had made no contact with Targett since his move to London, something which will surely break down the relationship between the Eastleigh-born lad and his boyhood club.

If Fulham value the youngster so highly it’s only natural for Targett to want to stay with the Cottagers, although no hard fee has been discussed at this point in time.

If Bertrand is to leave however then Targett may get the opportunity to be the first-choice left-back with the Saints, something which may make him question the move to the capital to play for Fulham if they do attempt to sign him.

Most Southampton supporters have accepted that Slavisa Jokanovic will look to sign the Englishman permanently, but as of now nothing concrete has been reported.

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