Joe Hart: Burnley sign keeper for about £3.5m from Manchester City on two-year deal

Burnley have signed goalkeeper Joe Hart from Manchester City on a two-year deal for a fee in the region of £3.5m.

Clarets boss Sean Dyche has brought in the 31-year-old with fellow keepers Nick Pope and Tom Heaton out injured.

Hart, who has won 75 England caps, made nearly 350 appearances for City, winning two Premier League titles and one FA Cup, but fell out of favour.

“I was open to anything that came my way and because of circumstances here something popped up,” he said.

“I feel like I’m in the right place and I feel like this is my time to kick on now,” added Hart, who was not picked for England’s World Cup squad, to Burnley’s website.

“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.”

Hart had been seeking a permanent move after City manager Pep Guardiola made it clear he had no first-team future.

The keeper made only one appearance for City after Guardiola became manager in 2016, spending the past two seasons on loan at Torino and West Ham, and was not part of the City squad which beat Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday to win the Community Shield.

Pope, who went to the World Cup ahead of Hart, dislocated his shoulder during their Europa League qualifying first-leg tie in Aberdeen and was replaced by Anders Lindegaard.

Burnley’s other England keeper, Heaton, is still not fully fit as he recovers from a calf injury.

Hart would need to be registered by 23:00 BST on Wednesday to be eligible to play in the first leg of Burnley’s Europa League third-round play-off at Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday.

However, there are regulations which might allow Hart to play depending on injuries to other keepers.

Hart is Burnley’s second summer signing after the Turf Moor club added central defender Ben Gibson for a club-record-equalling fee of £15m.

BBC