When the team sheets are read out at Old Trafford for the much-awaited Manchester derby on 10th September, a familiar name will be missed by the Manchester City fans – that of Joe Hart. An ever-present member in the City lineup and a key component of City’s rise in the past decade, Hart endured what is most likely the toughest summer of his career.
An underwhelming performance for England at the Euros with questions asked about the goals conceded against Wales and Iceland was followed by City manager Pep Guardiola’s decision to acquire the services of Barcelona’s Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to complement his preferred style of play.
As the end of the transfer window edged closer, Hart ended up joining Torino FC on a season-long loan as he started to run out of options.
As he starts the new season away from the spotlight and in a foreign league, Hart is undoubtedly at an important juncture of his career. After making the move from Shrewsbury Town to Manchester City in 2006, Hart had loan spells at Tranmere Rovers FC and Blackpool FC in 2007 before then City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson declared him as the number 1 heading into the new season.
He went on to make his debut for England in June 2008 and took over the vacant number 1 jersey at City after the departure of Andreas Isaksson to PSV Eindhoven.
The arrival of Irishman Shay Given in January 2009 jeopardized Joe Hart’s position as the club’s number 1 goalkeeper. In order to further his development, Hart joined newly-promoted Birmingham City on loan for the 2009-2010 season.
Initially, Hart struggled for form and consistency at the new club, but his performances improved gradually and he ended up winning Birmingham City's Player of the Year as well as being nominated for the 2010 PFA Young Player of the Year.
On his return from national duty with England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Hart was named as the first choice goalkeeper by then City manager Roberto Mancini. The manager’s decision was duly rewarded as Hart won the Premier League Golden Glove award for the keeper with the maximum number of clean sheets over the season and made key saves in City’s FA Cup win which ended their trophy drought.
Hart played a vital role in City’s first ever EPL title win in the following 2011-12 season and won the Golden Glove award as well. He further went on to win the award in the 2012-13 season and 2014-15 season as well making him the joint-highest winner of the award along with Petr Cech.
The longest-serving player in the City side leading up to the 2016-17 season and a natural leader, Hart was loved by both the club hierarchy and fans alike. However, slight errors started creeping into his game especially over the last three seasons with him conceding sloppy goals every now and then.
When City announced this year that Guardiola was going to take over from Manuel Pellegrini, it left many wondering whether Hart would suit Guardiola’s philosophy of having a sweeper-keeper who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and capable of good distribution.
Also Read: As Claudio Bravo joins Manchester City, who is the better 'keeper, Bravo or Hart?
Unfortunately, those remain the biggest weaknesses in Hart’s game in spite of being regarded by peers and pundits as one of the best goalkeepers in world football.
The shaky performances at Euros 2016 this summer for England added fuel to the cause and Pep Guardiola named Hart’s understudy Willy Caballero as goalkeeper instead in City’s first league match this season. As City started courting Claudio Bravo from Barcelona to replace Hart, he started looking out for new avenues.
However, all top teams in the league already had a top goalkeeper or had acquired one by then during the transfer window forcing Hart to look elsewhere for first team football.
With time running out, he finally joined Torino FC towards the end of August on a season-long loan becoming the first English keeper to play in the Serie A since its inception in 1929. As much as this very likely signals the end of Joe Hart’s career at Manchester City, where he is deeply loved and deemed to be a legend, this also allows him to reignite his career and start a new chapter at a different club.
The loan spell at Torino gives Hart first team football in one of Europe’s top 5 leagues while providing him with the chance to work on his game away from the media’s scrutiny. At 29 years of age, which is relatively young for goalkeepers and having amassed 348 and 64 appearances for City and England respectively, Hart’s career as a top goalkeeper is far from over.
After an unexpected summer of change, the future holds good for the Englishman. His excellent shot-stopping abilities, command of the box, leadership ability and international pedigree ensure a number of top European clubs will present themselves as potential suitors in next year’s summer transfer window.
In the long run, this summer could end up to be the turning point for Joe Hart to step up a notch and enter the upper echelons of goalkeeping greatness by the time his career is done and dusted.
