Joe Hart will spend the forthcoming season on loan at West Ham United after the London club confirmed the signing of the England number 1 today.
Hart, who played for Italian Serie A side Torino last season, will join former Manchester City colleague – and legend – Pablo Zabaleta at the London Stadium.
A message to you from our new man!#WelcomeHart pic.twitter.com/Myoet8Mlxe
— West Ham United (@WestHam) July 18, 2017
With playing time at the Etihad likely to be limited under City boss Pep Guardiola, Hart’s salary with the Hammers will reportedly be subsidised by City who have already moved to sign Ederson Moraes this summer.
Hart told West Ham TV that he couldn’t wait to get started back in the Premier League and found the Hammers to be a good club.
“It’s important for me to play football and to get the opportunity to come here and play is absolutely awesome.
“I’m really looking forward to the season.
Hart lavished praise on the Hammers after joining, and was excited to be working with Hammers manager Slaven Bilic, adding: “I’ve always loved the Club. I think you’ll struggle to find anyone, apart from the direct opposing fans around London, who doesn’t love the Club. It’s got something about it, it’s got a lot [of] history and I’ve always loved playing against West Ham.
“We’ve moved into London Stadium and we’ve got Slaven [Bilic] in charge who I’ve spoken to and I’ve always enjoyed as a manager.
“He obviously did a good job with Croatia and he’s doing a good job here, so to get the opportunity to come here, it wasn’t really a hard decision.”
Manchester City are also rumoured to be trying to sign former Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina who Guardiola worked with for a season at Bayern Munich as Claudio Bravo’s position as main goalkeeper has come under scrutiny following a difficult debut season in English football last term.