Joe Hart will play for Manchester City this preseason, but his future at the club remains uncertain. During a news conference in Chicago tonight, The Sports Bank asked Man City boss Pep Guardiola about the surprise inclusion of Hart in the preseason tour squad, and what the 31-year-old England international’s future at the club might be.
Guardiola confirmed that Hart will play tomorrow night against Borussia Dortmund in the first match of the International Champions Cup. Guardiola said that the club is trying to find a best fit for him, and the Spaniard wouldn’t rule out the idea of the 2014 England #1 staying at the Etihad.
“We’re going to try and make a solution for Joe but if not then he is with us,” Guardiola responded.
“He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever seen but at this moment he is with us. He’s a great professional. he’s training like an 18 year old.”
Joe Hart has not played for City since 2015-16. He spent the ’16-’17 season on loan at Torino, then went on loan again to West Ham United last term. Neither spell went particularly well, with the stint in Serie A more encouraging. It’s clear now that Hart will get his chance to impress (although it is friendly, so you can’t read too much into performances of this sort), and hopefully for all involved, attract a suitor.
If he stays, he would almost certainly be the number three goalkeeper behind Ederson and Claudio Bravo. It’s been reported that Joe Hart would prefer to leave City on a permanent basis, instead of a loan deal, and that he would gladly take a pay cut to go to a destination where he would get regular first team football.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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