Joe Hart will leave Burnley at the end of this month in search of his fourth permanent move of his career, but where will it be and did he ever reach his full potential?
As the news breaks of Hart’s imminent exit from Burnley, it is possibly the last chance saloon for the former England number one.
Hart has been at the Claret’s for the past two years having signed from Manchester City but has only made 19 appearances, often playing backup to his international successor Nick Pope.
With 127 clean sheets in 340 appearances in the Premier League as well as vast experience for his country with over 70 caps for the three lions, it’s fair to say that he still has a lot to offer.
But at 33-years-old, this may well be Hart’s last chance to play at the highest level, so what options are there for him?
Arsenal are the latest club said to be interested in Hart. Following the injury to first-choice keeper Bernd Leno, the Gunners are believed to be looking to bring him in to rival Argentina shot-stopper, Emiliano Martinez.
There is also Championship interest in Hart, with promotion chasers Leeds United keen on adding him to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.
Derby County is also a possibility where Hart would have a chance to link up with his previous England captain Wayne Rooney.
It is unlikely that Hart will walk into a first-team role in the Premier League so perhaps a drop down to the Championship could be key to getting back between the sticks on a regular basis.
If I was in Joe Hart’s position, I would consider perhaps dropping down to the Championship to get some more game time and if a move happened to a team in Leeds’ position then there is potential that we would see him back in the top division soon.
It is also understandable that Hart is coming towards the end of his career and that one final big move to Arsenal would make sense, both in finance and prestige. But it is likely that game time would be very limited.
So, did Joe Hart ever reach the heights that people thought he would?
In my opinion, there is no denying that he has had a fantastic career which has seen him win the Premier League and the League Cup twice as well as one FA Cup. As an individual, he won the Premier League Golden Glove on four occasions.
He enjoyed two or three seasons at the beginning of the decade where he was perhaps the best keeper in the league, however following a disappointing display at Euro 2014 where he made errors leading to goals, it never really went back to normal.
Pep Guardiola’s arrival at Manchester City signalled the end for Hart and unsuccessful spells at Torino, West Ham and now Burnley have perhaps tarnished his reputation.
Whilst never reaching the heights of Manchester United’s Peter Schmeichel, Joe Hart has had a successful career without setting the world alight. Maybe not reaching legendary status but he certainly should be held in high regard amongst Manchester City and England fans.
This article was written exclusively for golear.co.uk.
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