Southampton have been perennially acknowledged as a feeder club but despite getting handicapped at the end of every season by losing out on their key players, they tend to find a way somehow to keep their consistency intact.
With 33 points after 26 league outings, the Saints are currently placed 10th in the league table and under the guardianship of Claude Puel, they can climb up the ladder and challenge for a Europa League spot owing to what they have at their disposal and of course, with a shrewd summer transfer window in which they must lure some proven names to St. Mary’s.
One of the latest reports to have surfaced is that of Southampton getting linked with out-of-favour Manchester City goalkeeper, Joe Hart, for a transfer in the summer. After Pep Guardiola took the charge of the blue half of Manchester, Hart was shipped off to Serie A side, Torino, as the Spaniard was seriously interested in bringing Claudio Bravo to the Etihad Stadium (which he eventually did) and also had the option of Willy Caballero as the deputy goalkeeper.
In a total of 25 appearances for Torino ever since making loan move, Hart has collected 5 clean sheets and has made 70 saves to put his calibre on display yet again. Nonetheless, he does have an unfinished business in the Premier League and would desperately be seeking for an exit from Manchester City, and a move to the ranks of Puel makes perfect sense.
Southampton’s no. 1 man between the sticks, Fraser Forster, is linked with a move to Everton owing to which there would be a massive void to fill. Frankly speaking, Southampton need to replace quality with quality and thus, Hart might be the one they could replace Forster with.
Hart has an undoubted pedigree and his experience with the Citizens in the Premier League is simply phenomenal. Puel will be more than happy to have the shot-stopping prowess and excellent ball distribution methods of the 29-year-old to be used.
Hart’s future at Manchester City does look very bleak but make no mistake, he is still an outstanding goalkeeper and should Southampton successfully lay their hands on him, they would get a natural leader who can command the defensive unit of the Saints, inject the mentality to win and pass his experience to the younger ones and help Puel to build a core team for next team.
Hart’s transfer will have its own complications but he is a character every club will love to have.
Statistics Credits: Squawka
