Where does Joe Hart’s future lie?

Torino are hoping to to extend Joe Hart’s loan spell at the club beyond this season

According to Torino boss, Sinisa Mihajlovic, England number one goalkeeper Joe Hart wants to stay in Turin beyond this season.

The 29-year-old has spent this season on-loan at the Serie A club and it seems he wants to stay in Turin.

Media reports suggest that the Italian club have made an official request to Hart’s parent club Manchester City to allow him to spend another season on-loan at the club.

Can’t afford to buy Hart this summer

Talking to La Gazzetta dello Sport Mihajlovic said: “Hart wants to stay at Torino but we are all aware, both him and the club, that we can’t buy him.

“At the most, we could take him on loan for another year but that depends on both Manchester City and him.

“We will need to know if Hart is going to be here next year because if he’s not then we’ll need to change the way we play.”

As Mihajlovic has stated Torino are not in a financial position to sign Hart in a permanent deal. His transfer fee and wages will be too much. The only way that the goalkeeper is going to stay in Turin is on a temporary deal.

Question marks over his ability

Hart has experienced mixed fortunes in Italy. The England international has kept just three clean sheets in his 30 appearances in Serie A. Hart has not been outstanding for the Italian team and not done anything special in the Italian top-flight.

For a long time, he was considered a very good goalkeeper when he was at City for almost a decade. Some even claimed that he was one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Maybe he was overrated by the British media and pundits alike.

Following a series of unconvincing displays for City last season and a poor Euro 2016 questions were being asked about Hart’s ability. City boss Pep Guardiola obviously also had his doubts, especially about his ability with the ball at his feet.

Hart was deemed surplus to requirements by the Catalan boss. He was allowed to leave, but his destination was a surprise. Hart was linked with the likes of Everton and Liverpool, teams that were considered just below the top tier teams at the time.

However, instead, he ended up in Italy at Torino. One question I had at the time was why didn’t any English club sign Hart in the summer? Maybe those unconvincing performances at Euro 2016 were enough to dissuade English clubs from making a move for Hart.

Where will he be plying his trade next season?

It seems unlikely that Hart has much of a future at Manchester City. The Citizens boss Pep Guardiola has tried to deflect speculation about Hart’s future recently.

However, nothing in Hart’s performance in Serie A will have convinced the City boss that Hart is the man to solve City’s goalkeeping problems. Hart’s replacement Chilean international Claudio Bravo has struggled in Manchester, to the point where backup ‘keeper Willy Caballero has replaced the former Barcelona star at times this season.

Hart has not improved with the ball at his feet, so he is unlikely to be welcomed with open arms by Guardiola in the summer.

The England number one will be in an awkward position in the summer. He is unlikely to attract any of the high-profile teams in England. However, his massive wages could well put off any the teams lower down the Premier League table.

Maybe another season on loan in Turin would not be a terrible thing. With Guardiola planning an overhaul of his City squad, the Catalan boss is likely to want Hart off the wage bill. It will be majorly interesting to see where the England international will be playing next season.

Hart is still a decent goalkeeper. However, he is no longer considered by many a top-class goalkeeper, so his options will be limited in the summer. It would be a major surprise to see Hart in a Manchester City shirt that is for sure.

Where will Joe Hart be plying his trade next season?