Pep Guardiola refused to give England goalkeeper Joe Hart any assurances about his long-term future at Manchester City after surprisingly axing him for Saturday’s 2-1 victory against Sunderland.
The Spaniard underlined his ruthless reputation by demoting City’s longest-serving player in favour of Argentine Willy Caballero while the club still continue to chase Barcelona ‘keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
‘I am a guy who takes decisions. I am not afraid about that. I feel it and do it,’ said an unrepentant Guardiola.
‘I think Willy had a really good pre-season. He gave me a lot of confidence for this game, his building-up play, his personality. That is why I chose him.
‘This line-up was for this game. Of course Joe can play in the next game (v Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday) but I don’t know if he will.’
Missing out on the first game of the Guardiola era will be huge concern for 29-year-old Hart who was blamed in some quarters for England’s exit against Iceland at Euro 2016.
Always seen as a commanding presence on and off the pitch, Guardiola is among the managers who feel he has to improve his footwork in the modern game where sweeper-keepers Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer are held in high regard.
With a new England manager Sam Allardyce to impress, Hart will not want to be on the sidelines at club level for long but forcing a move two weeks before the end of the transfer window is also likely to be difficult with those leading clubs able to afford his £160,000-a-week wages already well served in the goalkeeping department.
Guardiola tried to offer Hart the carrot that more practise at the training ground will boost his chances of playing in City’s new style in which the keeper is an extra defender.
‘Willy has been in a lot of training sessions two-against-one, three-against-two, but I am not saying Joe can’t do that also. I have a lot of respect for Joe and his career. I know he is a good goalkeeper.’
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