Joe Hart is happy with his decision after joining Burnley from Manchester City.
The 31-year-old’s career has been in the doldrums since 2016. After Pep Guardiola became manager of City, the former England first-choice keeper was frozen out of the club’s plans.
He spent the 2016-17 season on loan with Torino in the Serie A and spent last term on loan with West Ham.
Inconsistent performances for the Hammers led to him missing out on a place in the England squad for the 2018 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals and Jordan Pickford firmly established himself as a first-choice goalkeeper for the national team.
Hart will now be aiming to rebuild his club career and hoping to get called up to the senior team for Euro 2020.
Many will argue that he did not make a good decision considering that the Clarets already boast Tom Heaton and Nick Pope in their ranks. Both keepers are highly-rated and have represented England during the last 12 months.
However, Hart could well start of the season as first-choice for Sean Dyche’s side due to injuries to Pope and Heaton. And perhaps Hart feels that playing in England keeps him more in the media spotlight and therefore closer to the national team reckoning.
“It’s definitely the right time for me to move on,” Hart told Burnley’s official website. “[City] are doing fantastic and I’m very happy for them. They need to go on and do their thing and I need to do mine.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m in the right place and I feel like this is my time to kick on now. I didn’t really think this was going to be an option. There is a fantastic goalkeeping department but there was a slot for me and I really feel like I can do something and help this club go in the direction it wants to go.
“Everything has really impressed me. I’ve heard such good things about the atmosphere. They say it’s priceless but to be part of a team where everyone is pushing in the same direction is not as normal as you would expect it to be.
“I heard that was the vibe and I’ve come here, first day, and you can just see it. It just stinks of it. Everyone wants to play for each other, everyone wants to win and everyone wants to do their best.”
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