My Joe’s far from average
Gareth Southgate insists Joe Hart is good enough for England when it comes to using his feet – despite both his clubs expressing doubts.
The Manchester City keeper spent the season on loan at Torino after being discarded by Pep Guardiola and is sti l l surplus to requirements at the Etihad.
Guardiola’s concerns over Hart’s ability with the ball last week led him to make £35million Brazilian Ederson the most expensive goalie in the world less than 12 months after City splashed out £17m on Claudio Bravo.
But Three Lions boss Southgate has no such fears and is ready to name Hart as his No.1 for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Hampden.
He said: “Joe has been asked to play out from the back for Torino and for England. His decisionmaking has been good.
“In terms of how we asked him to play I don’t see an issue with it.”
Hart has let in 58 goals since making his Torino debut last September with only Pescara’s Albano Bizzarri shipping more in Serie A over the same period.
And Torino president Urbano Cairo admitted he had not expected the English keeper to make so many mistakes.
The 30-year-old’s place in the national side is under pressure from Stoke’s Jack Butland, Southampton’s Fraser Forster and Jordan Pickford of Sunderland.
But Hart has played every minute of the World Cup qualifying campaign and has yet to concede a goal across five games.
So Southgate is confident his goalie will be ready for the Hampden clash.
He said: “I read the comments of the Torino president but that could be related to the fact they know they can’t keep Joe.
“His impact for us has been excellent. He’s pretty self-critical and still has that drive to be a top player.”