Torino sign Joe Hart from Manchester City on a season-long loan deal
Serie-A club Torino sign England No 1 goalkeeper Joe Hart from Manchester City on a season-long loan deal.
Hart, 29, lost his place to Willy Caballero at the start of the season and new coach Pep Guardiola’s decision to sign Claudio Bravo from Barcelona effectively relegated the England international to third choice.
Sunderland – who have lost injured first-choice goalkeeper Vito Mannone for three months – were prepared to pay a large slice of his wages but Manchester City agreed to Hart’s preference to move to Italy.
Che entusiasmo per #Hart https://t.co/E4JaBKjLaX #SFT #110annidiToro La prima giornata del portiere inglese a #Torino
— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC_1906) August 31, 2016
Hart told Torino’s website: “Suddenly, my career has taken an important turn…Torino’s offer came in the right moment, in the right manner. I am very excited to test myself in an important and beautiful league such as Serie A.
“The history of goalkeepers in Italy is known everywhere. I am sure I will learn in Torino, too. For this reason I accepted President Cairo’s proposal.
“I have read an interview about ‘Toro’: the coach wants humility and ambition. I like that. That’s how I want to be.”
A statement on the City website read: “A popular, well-liked figure in the dressing room and a fans’ favourite thanks to his articulate, straight-talking candour in interviews, Hart now joins Turin-based Serie A outfit Torino for the remainder of the current campaign
“From everyone at the club, good luck and thank you, Joe!
Cairo said: “Joe Hart is a top international goalkeeper with substantial experience both with Manchester City and with the England national team, in which he even debuted at the age of 21.
“To have succeeded in signing him gives us all great satisfaction and attests for our ambitions of wanting to build an even better, more competitive squad.
“As always, it will be what happens on the pitch which will determine whether we have succeeded, but certainly we didn’t hesitate for a single second when and we took this opportunity to enter into negotiations with Manchester City.
“In addition to Hart’s talent, he is extremely humble, has the enthusiasm to prove himself every single day to earn a place as a protagonist — these are the same stimuli which will also spur on his teammates and for this, and in the name of everybody at the club, I am delighted to give Joe Hart the most cordial of welcomes. Welcome to Torino, and always Forza Toro!”
He endured a disappointing summer at Euro 2016, making errors in the games against Wales and Iceland as England crashed out in the round of 16.
New England boss Sam Allardyce looks set to stick with Hart as his No. 1, but said it was important that he was playing first-team football regularly.
Hart’s only appearance for City this season came in the 1-0 Champions League playoff second-leg win against Steaua Bucharest, which was seen as a farewell appearance with Guardiola’s side leading 5-0 from the first game.
