OPINION
After Burnley confirmed the signing of Joe Hart from Manchester City, West Ham have made a good decision and avoided a transfer blunder.
As confirmed by the club’s official Twitter account, the Clarets have completed the signing of Hart from the Premier League champions on a two-year contract.
BREAKING: Burnley Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of England international Joe Hart on an initial two-year deal. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/bkyAuXKlMS
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) August 7, 2018
Hart’s stock has fallen rapidly since he was ousted by Pep Guardiola in the Spanish manager’s first season at the club and he was sent to Torino on loan, where he failed to impress.
The former Barcelona manager wasn’t impressed by the ‘keepers distribution or shot-stopping and made it clear he was surplus to requirements.
David Moyes then swooped for the 31-year-old, who spent last season on loan at the London Stadium from City, as he provided competition between the sticks with Spaniard Adrian.
However, the loan spell wasn’t at all successful. The England international looked shaky, erratic and made the whole defence nervous when he appeared for the first team.
Adrian comfortably outperformed him during the season and as such, the Englishman only made 19 Premier League appearances.
The stats back up how much Hart’s ability has regressed over the last few years, with the goalkeeper made four errors leading directly to goals for the opposition in 2017/18, which is the fourth highest in the division, despite only playing half of the total league games he could have appeared in (Premier League).
The Hammers made a wonderful decision in not signing Hart, who earned £116,000-per-week at The Etihad Stadium (Spotrac), and instead moved for Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who is a much better option for Manuel Pellegrini ahead of next season and will win points on his own with match-winning saves.
Despite the great transfer business that has been done in terms of arrivals so far in this window, the decision not to sign Hart may have been the best decision the London club have made this summer.
