Transfer News: Joe Hart is handed a Premier League lifeline

Tottenham’s board is reportedly close to signing Englishman Joe Hart as a free agent.

After being without a club for the first time in his footballing career the ex-England international, Joe Hart, receives a gift from the Special One and Tottenham Hotspur. At the time of recording this, he was currently undergoing his medical with the North Londoners in order to complete his move to the top-six club.

"Tottenham set to sign former England, Man City and Burnley goalkeeper. Joe Hart is undergoing a medical at Tottenham ahead of a move to the club on a free transfer. (Via: Sky Sports)"

The club themselves are a man down in the stopper department after letting go of Michel Vorm. Paulo Gazzaniga and Alfie Whiteman are the only two first-team backups to Hugo Lloris. With Hart coming in, he will provide competition to Gazzaniga but will remain second-choice to Lloris.

The downwards spiral of Joe Hart

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Following a successful period with Manchester City, winning the Premier League title twice, the FA Cup twice, and Carabao Cup twice, the stopper was alienated and expelled by the then-new manager, Pep Guardiola, who joined in 2016.

The Spanish manager felt the four-time Golden Glove winner was not up to his standards, and could not perform in his system. One thing Hart has always had trouble with was his distribution and his inability to play out from the back. Something City needs at the highest level from a goalkeeper.

Initially, Pep brought in Claudio Bravo to take the ranks of being first-choice keeper but was deemed not good enough for the Premier League. In came Ederson for £35 million in 2017 and the trip down the dark lane began for a keeper (Joe Hart) that was once regarded as one of the best in Europe. The EPL runners-up opted to use Ederson as the number 1 and Bravo as number 2, finally signalling the end to Hart’s 10-year Manchester City career. Even Willy Caballero was used ahead of him at times.

Failed loan spells

Hart went on to complete a couple of loan moves thereafter. His first was one out of the country and where he jaunted to Italy, spending a season in the Serie A employed by Torino.

This was supposed to be the catalyst of his career, trying to prove his worth to Pep from afar. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned and he returned, only to go out on loan again. He then took the trip to London and joined a struggling West Ham side.

More of the same, an unsuccessful run and he lost his place to Łukasz Fabiański, a player showing too much promise between the sticks to be the second choice to Hart. The final call for a revival came in the last two campaigns, where he became a part of Sean Dyche’s Burnley, a club renowned and hated for their old school English way of football.

They conceded little and attack almost never. A defensively worked unit that exposed Hart’s decline exponentially. Before he arrived at Turf Moor, the Clarets 2017/18 EPL run was one to remember. They conceded as little as 39 goals and ended in a Europa League qualifying spot.

When he arrived in 2018/19, the club conceded double that figure with a total of 68. He took part in 19 of their Premier League outings, letting in a tremendous 41 goals, keeping only four clean sheets in the process. He then made no appearances after Nick Pope returned from injury and they went on to finish in the top half of the Premier League standings.

Mental health issues

This led to the inevitable, the club not renewing his deal. After being released following the Claret’s cuts post-pandemic, Joe Hart found himself for the first time in his 21-year career without a club to call his home.

The player spoke how challenging it was for him to pick himself up and dig himself out of a hole. It was a rough patch that looked like he would never come out of. Thankfully, Tottenham has given him his last lifeline before his playing career draws to a close. At 33-years-old he has a lot of experience to offer a team in a rebuilding phase under Jose Mourinho.