Did Liverpool miss a Joe Hart trick?
Football.London have reported that the former Manchester City is on the verge of signing for Tottenham Hotspur on a free.
Although Adrian has performed adequately as Jurgen Klopp’s second choice goalkeeper, should Liverpool have sought to upgrade the position and would Joe Hart have done that?
The first thing that needs to be discussed is whether we’re seeing the former England international through the prism of his City glory days or the Torino, West Ham and Burnley horrowshow years?
Hart’s been out of the limelight for a little while as Sean Dyche preferred Nick Pope and Tom Heaton over the ‘keeper, and that helps to soften the mind whenever he consider him.
There’s a reason the goalkeeper couldn’t dislodge that pair, and why the Hammers never wanted to make his move permanent.
While Adrian made several high-profile mistakes, he isn’t a particularly bad player. Those are fresh in our brain, and they also hurt. The howler at home to Atletico Madrid will take some getting over, and could well damage his legacy at Liverpool forever.
But it should be remembered the excellent job he did when thrust into the starting line up after Alisson’s achilles went ping against Norwich City.
Adrian’s initially introduction to the side went well, and we all felt safe with the Spaniard between the sticks. Would Joe Hart inspire the same reaction?
One thing Hart would be able to bring is his homegrown status, and in the certain post-Brexit times of Premier League football, that’s always going to be incredibly welcome.
Something that highlights his post-Guardiola slump is the amount of times Hart was saving shots. His save percentage was the 6th worse in the Premier League for 2018/2019 at 0.658, which was the last time he had a decent run in the top flight – said FBRef.
By comparison, Alisson’s was the best at 0.771.
If Klopp could get Hart back to anywhere near his best it would have been an excellent signing for the Reds, but with no regular football and a damaged confidence it would have been a risk.
On balance, it’s better that he went with Adrian.