Matt Targett

Audi


The defender drives quite a classy ride.

Born in Eastleigh, Hampshire, he began his footballing prospects with Southampton's youth academy at the age of 8 years old. After a decade of progressing through the youth ranks at Southampton the Englishman made his first-team debut in the second-round of a League Cup  game against Millwall, playing the full 90 minutes in an eventual 2-0 win for The Saints; his next appearance would be in the following round of the tournament in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. His first Premier League appearance would come as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers at St. Mary's Stadium on 27 September 2014, he would later be handed his first Premier League start in a 1-1 score draw against Chelsea on 28 December 2014. The defender was awarded Southampton Young Player of the Season for the 2014/15 season. The 2015/16 saw the young left-back get more game-time under his belt with 20 appearances in all competitions for The Saints, but his progress would be halted in the following couple of seasons as a result of falling behind in the pecking order. In search of regular first-team football the youngster went out to EFL Championship side Fulham in January 2018 on loan till the end of the season, a highly successful spell in which he helped the club  win promotion to the Premier League after a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa in the EFL Championship Playoff Final. The defender would return to his parent-club ahead of the 2018/19 season, featuring in 16 Premier League games as The Saints finished 16th in the Premier League table to narrowly avoid relegation. In the summer of 2019 he signed a long-term contract at Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.