SO, HOW GOOD ARE TORINO?

THE Turin club are seventh in Serie A. They lost 3-2 to AC Milan on the opening day but beat Bologna 5-1 at the weekend. They are, however, a middling Italian club in recent times. They have finished in the top half of Serie A only twice since 1999 and seventh is their highest finish in a league season this century.

Joe Hart is leaving behind Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, so who are Torino’s stars?

THEIR coach is Sinisa Mihajlovic. The Serb has spent most of his career in Italy, making his name as a player at Lazio before managing the likes of AC Milan. Torino’s squad includes former Barcelona forward Maxi Lopez, Tottenham flop Iago Falque and promising Italian forward Andrea Belotti. Their stadium, Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, has a capacity of 27,958. That is slightly bigger than Hull’s ground but less than Blackburn’s.

What should Hart know about the club?

THEY are an iconic Italian outfit. They have won eight Serie A titles, including four straight wins following the Second World War. Torino’s history will, however, forever be marked by the Superga air crash in May 1949. The side were returning from a friendly in Lisbon when their jet crashed into the Superga hill not far from Turin. All 31 people on board were killed, including 18 Torino players, who were leading the title race with four games remaining. They fielded a youth side for the final matches and their rivals did the same. Torino won all four games and lifted the title.

Is Hart following in the footsteps of any Brits?

GRAEME SOUNESS coached the club for four disastrous months in 1997, but Joe Baker, an England striker who joined from Hibernian, and Denis Law, who became a Manchester United icon, were fan favourites in their single seasons, despite off-field troubles.