Koeman closes the door on Hart’s Everton escape route
JOE HART’s future looks even more precarious after Everton ruled out a move for the goalkeeper and Claudio Bravo signed for Manchester City.
Bravo’s switch from Barcelona on a four-year deal was finalised yesterday, with the goalkeeper costing an initial £13.75million.
Pep Guardiola has been on the hunt for a new No 1 all summer after deciding Hart was surplus to requirements, and City could potentially pay an extra £2.5m in performance-related clauses for the Chilean.
All that means Hart is No 3 at the Etihad Stadium and needs to find a new club before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.
Everton will not be his next destination, however, after Ronald Koeman said ‘there is no interest’. Koeman added: ‘Everybody will see what Everton’s squad is when the transfer window ends next week.’
Borussia Dortmund have discussed taking the 29-year-old on loan, but Hart is increasingly worried he will be left in limbo.
Bravo arrived in Manchester after Barcelona landed his replacement in Ajax’s Jasper Cillessen for £11m. The Dutch club signed Newcastle’s Tim Krul for the year to begin the goalkeeping merry-go-round.
Guardiola hailed 33-year- old Bravo as ‘fantastic’ and said: ‘Claudio is an excellent addition to our squad.
‘He has experience and great leadership qualities and is in the prime of his life. He is a goal- keeper I have admired for a number of years and I’m really happy he is now a City player.’
Bravo said: ‘I’m very proud. I know the club is building something very special. I have followed City’s progress in recent years and obviously know some of my new team-mates from the Copa America.
‘It is not easy to leave a club like Barcelona but the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola was too good to refuse.’
Bravo will not have to wait long to be reunited with his old team-mates.
One of the Chilean’s first assignments will be to keep the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi at bay after City were drawn alongside Luis Enrique’s side in the group stages of the Champions League.