Joe Hart seems poised to remain Manchester City number one next season because Pep Guardiola may have difficulty getting the goalkeeper that he wants this summer.
As Sky Sports reports, Barcelona stoppers Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen have both been linked with moves to the Etihad Stadium to replace Hart as first choice.
At the moment, each have to settle for being rotated, with Bravo in between the posts for La Liga games and Ter Stegen playing in the Champions League and other cup competitions.
But Barca sporting director Robert Fernandez has vowed that the Spanish champions will do ‘whatever it takes’ to keep hold of both the Chilean and the German internationals.
“I’ll do what it takes to prevent either of [Bravo and Ter Stegen] from leaving this summer,” he is quoted by Sky Sports as saying. “Our stance has not changed one bit since I last said both would continue.
“People speculate too much, but the fact is we have two extraordinary goalkeepers under contract.”
Sky Sports claims that Bravo and Ter Stegen are both happy with Barcelona’s rotation arrangement, although the chance to be number one at a club like City would be tempting.
Hart is arguably not as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Guardiola would like his goalkeeper to be, to suit his playing style, while Bravo and Ter Stegen both excel at distribution.
And the England international’s performances at Euro 2016 would have done nothing to persuade Guardiola that other areas of his game made up for that, making several high-profile errors.
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