Exiled Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is open to a move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, according to his agent last week.
Jonathan Barnett told Sky Sports News HQ that Hart will make a decision on his future in the summer, with a lot of options open to him.
It is widely believed that Slaven Bilic may seek a new option between the sticks during the transfer window as both Adrian and Darren Randolph have failed to impress in what has been a difficult season. As a result, Joe Hart’s name has been mentioned as a potential target for the Hammers in the past.
Hart was forced out of Manchester City shortly after the arrival of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola was supposedly unimpressed with Hart’s inability to play with the ball at his feet and decided to replace him with Claudio Bravo, while Hart was shipped out on loan to Torino in Italy.
Since then Hart has impressed in Serie A while Bravo has lost his place in Guardiola’s starting XI to Willy Caballero. Hart’s impressive stats for Torino this season have been highlighted by our good friends at FootballFanCast.com below…
The 29-year-old’s reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers has been strengthened as a result, so any deal to bring him to London Stadium would certainly be seen as a real coup.
Bilic appeared to have lost trust in first choice goalkeeper Adrian earlier in the campaign but replacement Darren Randolph, despite faring better between the sticks than his Spanish teammate, is not seen as a long-term man for the gloves.
With a number of clubs supposedly interested in Hart, including the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton, it’s not yet known whether West Ham will be able to compete in the market for his signature.
That said, reports in The Sun today claim that Adrian is set to be handed a one-year extension on his contract, which was due to expire this summer.
Joe Hart is valued at £12.75m by Transfermarkt.com.
