NEWCASTLE UNITED have agreed the terms of a deadline-day loan deal for Aston Villa full-back Matt Targett.

As well as pushing through the permanent signing of Hugo Ekitike, with a deal having been agreed with French side Stade Reims, Newcastle's recruitment team are also working to tie up Targett's temporary switch until the end of the season.

The deal that has been agreed with the Aston Villa hierarchy is understood to be an initial loan, with a view to a possible permanent transfer at the end of the season.

The Magpies have looked at a number of left-back targets this month, but switched their attentions to Targett when a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Mitchel Bakker fell through at the end of last week.

Targett started the seasomn as Villa's first-choice full-back, but has found himself out of the side since Lucas Digne moved to Villa Park from Everton.

The Northern Echo: Matt Targett insists the responsibility lies with the players to turn around Villa's form

A 26-year-old former England Under-21 international, Targett broke through at Southampton before joining Villa in the summer of 2019.

He will undergo a medical in the next few hours, and will provide competition for Jamal Lewis and Paul Dummett, both of whom have struggled with long-term injury issues this season.