Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Southampton to sign defender, Matt Targett for a fee believed to be in the region of £14m according to Sky Sports. 

Dean Smith will be looking to add some strength in depth to his side as they look to adjust to life back in the Premier League after they won promotion via the play-offs earlier this year.

This update will come as frustrating news to Fulham, who were previously interested in signing Targett earlier this month according to a report from West London Sport. 

The 23-year-old spent a season on loan with the Lilywhites from 2017-2018, making 18 appearances under Slavisa Jokanovic as they won promotion into the Premier League.

This seems to have tilted the race to land his signature into Aston Villa's favour, with the Villans being able to offer him a better quality of football in the new season.

A move in the summer would put an end to a lengthy spell with Southampton, where he struggled to find consistent minutes in the top-flight, which will have come as a frustration to the left-back.

He made 63 appearances for the Saints in total, including 21 in last year's campaign as they eventually finished 16th in the Premier League after a poor run of results.

The Verdict: 

This is a frustrating update for Fulham, who will have been keen to land his signature.

I feel that if Fulham had been in the Premier League, then they could have been able to tempt Targett to sign for them, but now they're in the Championship, they were fighting a losing battle.

He's too good for that level, and I think he'll be a really good signing for Aston Villa, who can offer him regular game time in the top-flight.