Matt Targett admits he was surprised by Lucas Digne's arrival at Aston Villa in January.

The Englishman swapped Villa for Newcastle after fellow left-back Digne was bought from Everton.

"It was a difficult decision because obviously I was pretty much the only left-back last season and I knew the club wanted to sign a left-back," Targett said in an interview with talkSPORT.

"I was quite surprised when they signed someone like Lucas Digne.

"Obviously he was out there at the time and the club had to do what they had to do, but it was quite hard to take when they signed someone of that calibre, but if that's where the club wants to go then I completely respect that

"But at the same time, I'm 26 and I don't want to be sitting on the bench, I want to look back on my career knowing that I've played as many Premier League games as possible."