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After Tottenham Hotspur signed Atalanta keeper Pierluigi Gollini on loan this past weekend, a lot of Spurs supporters what that meant for Joe Hart. Well, now it seems we know. Fabrizio Romano tweeted this morning that Spurs have entered into negotiations with Celtic for the transfer of Hart to Glasgow.
Celtic have opened talks with Tottenham to sign Joe Hart as new goalkeeper. Negotiations ongoing between the two clubs. ⚪️ #CelticFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 28, 2021
Aurelio Buta is still the main target as right-back, as reported days ago. Celtic are working to reach an agreement.
Hart was always a weird signing. Ostensibly signed because he was a) free, b) an experienced player, and c) home grown, he somehow slotted into the team as the primary backup behind Hugo Lloris this past season under Jose Mourinho despite not being, y’know, very good. I’m being slightly uncharitable — Hart is and continues to be by all indications a very good teammate and an affable guy to have around, but even now the very idea of Hart coming in for a hypothetically injured Lloris gives me the vapors.
Hart was signed on a two year contract, so actually getting real money for him from Celtic (or any other club) would potentially be one of the most amazing pieces of business Fabio Paratici could do this summer. I’m not yet convinced it will happen — seriously, it’s Joe Hart! — but it does seem to confirm the background ITK info that was swirling around Hart earlier this week. It was suggested that Nuno Espirito Santo had already told Joe that he was not in Nuno’s plans for this coming season.
A long way to go here, but even a £1m transfer fee for Hart would be an act of financial wizardry and I’m all for it.