Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart has left Manchester City after 12 years and joined up with Burnley. Hart has signed an initial two-year deal with the club for an undisclosed fee, although it is believed to be around £3.5 million.
Burnley Complete Joe Hart Signing
The transfer ends a nightmare few years for Hart. Since Pep Guardiola took over as City boss, he has been ousted from the team, first sent out on loan to Torino and then last season at West Ham.
Neither of these moves went well for him. He was constantly considered one of the worst performers in Serie A each week during his time there, and regularly made mistakes for West Ham that cost them points. He was eventually dropped and replaced by Adrian for the remainder of the season.
A Fresh Start
Losing his place in the Manchester City squad eventually led him to lose his place in the England set-up. However, this move to Burnley, where two other keepers are also vying for a place in the national team, should give him the motivation to work hard and regain his place.
Both Nick Pope and Tom Heaton are currently out injured, so it’s likely that Hart will start ahead of Anders Lindegaard, with the veteran Dane providing cover on the bench.
Good Signing For Burnley?
At 31-years-old, Hart is still relatively young even for a footballer, let alone a goalkeeper. For Burnley to be able to acquire a former England keeper who, for large parts of his career has been considered the best in the country, for such a small fee, is an outstanding piece of business.
Although it’s a move they probably didn’t want to have to make, in terms of wanting to keep Nick Pope fit and see Tom Heaton return to action, they have done very well in the circumstances to be able to get a player of Hart’s quality.
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