Roberto Mancini Wants to Keep Joe Hart
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has revealed he wants goalkeeper Joe Hart to remain with the club for the English Premier League (EPL) campaign.
Hart faces tough competition for the gloves at City in the form of Shay Given, the club’s regular number one goalkeeper. Republic of Ireland international Given looked as though he would miss the start of the campaign through injury, but he has recovered and it looks likely that he will be ready to take his place in goal for the EPL season kick-off against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
With that in mind, Hart had looked set to move to another club on loan after a stand-out spell with Birmingham City last term. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce had approached City with a view to taking Hart on loan as regular number one Craig Gordon recovers from a wrist injury, but Mancini has said that he wants the England international to remain with the EPL big-spenders for the new campaign.
'Two good goalkeepers'
The manager told the Daily Telegraph that: "In this moment we have two good goalkeepers and one will play and one will stay on the bench. We play many games, a lot of games, in one year - three games every week - so we could play both goalkeepers. I have an idea who will play in goal but I have one week more to decide. It is important if there's an injury to a goalkeeper. If we don't have another good one, then that will be a problem."
Hart’s profile sky-rocketed after a stellar season on loan with Birmingham in the 2009-10 season. He excelled as the Midlands club recorded a 12-match unbeaten run in the league, a series of results which helped ensure their place in the EPL for another season. His strong form saw him named as part of England’s 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he did not feature for his country in South Africa.
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