Why offloading veteran Joe Hart seems like the best option for Burnley
According to Turkish outlet Fanatik (h/t The Sun), Burnley’s out-of-favour keeper Joe Hart has been handed a career lifeline by Besiktas.
The Turkish top-flight club are considering the former England goalkeeper as a replacement for their on-loan flop Loris Karius. The German’s two-year loan spell with the Black Eagles is set to end this summer (h/t The Sun).
He is expected to make a return to his parent club Liverpool, where he had lost his role as the club’s first-choice keeper with the arrival of Brazilian Alisson Becker. Karius has had a disappointing two-year stint in Turkey so far, conceding 95 goals and managing just 14 clean sheets from his overall 67 appearances for Besiktas.
The Reds’ custodian has failed to reach the standards expected from him, with the club dropping to fifth in the league standings compared to their third-place finish last season. It has been a season to forget for Karius as he conceded a massive 46 goals and managed just eight clean sheets in 32 matches across all competitions for Besiktas this season.
With Karius’ future remaining an uncertainty, Besiktas are in need of an established keeper ahead of the next season and they have set their eyes on Clarets man Joe Hart (h/t The Sun).
Hart, like Karius, has endured a difficult season at Burnley with boss Sean Dyche restricting him to just three appearances altogether this season. To add to his miseries, the 32-year-old has conceded seven goals in these outings and has no clean sheet to his name.
After impressing at former side Manchester City, winning two Premier League titles, as many League Cups and one FA Cup, Hart’s career has hit a downward spiral since the arrival of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.
Hart left City for Burnley in the summer of 2018, after two difficult loan spells at Torino and West Ham. Despite making 19 league appearances in his maiden season for Clarets, the experienced custodian has lost his spot to young Nick Pope, who has emerged as their first-choice man after some stellar displays.
He has been impressive for the Dyche’s side this season starting in all their 29 league outings and keeping 11 clean sheets so far. He is just one short of Liverpool keeper Alisson, who leads the Premier League clean sheet charts with 12 to his name.
With Pope remaining Dyche’s obvious first-choice keeper for the upcoming season, this would be the best time for them to offload veteran Hart.
Moreover, this is an opportunity for Hart to once again revive his career after going through one of the worst phases in his career in recent times. Also, with as many as three more keepers in the mix, Dyche does not have to worry if Hart moves someplace else, as he has enough back-up options in the side.
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Verdict
With Pope establishing himself as Burnley’s No.1 keeper, it is certain that Hart’s chances are going to get increasingly limited in the coming days. Moreover, with manager Dyche having enough goalkeepers in the side, he just looks like a surplus to their requirements. Thus, offloading the veteran campaigner amidst interest from Turkey (h/t The Sun) would be the best option for Clarets.
