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It took a couple years but Joe Hart’s loan move from Manchester City to West Ham United is complete. The 30 year old England keeper joins the Hammers on a season long loan with the option to buy him at the end of the season.
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Reports indicate that West Ham will be paying the majority of his wages while Manchester City will kick in to help keep the West Ham pay structure in place. Here are the Brace the Hammer’s writers thoughts on Joe Harts signing.
Jackson Schmidtke:
I think it’s terrible. I hate it. For a more in-depth reasoning see this article.
Tom Atherton:
Truly ecstatic with the signing of Joe Hart, I think he's a definite upgrade from what we had last season with Randolph and Adrian. We get a leader of men and a top England International, I truly hope he succeeds at West Ham.
Jonathon Liebling:
Hart brings a presence that has been severely lacking. His experience and ability to marshal the back line will show from day one. Will it always be rainbows and sunshine? No, of course not, but Between him and Zabby, experience will certainly improve upon a defense that gave up more than their fair share of goals last season.
Pete Schlenker:
An upgrade to keeper is nice, and make no mistake, Hart is an upgrade from last year. While not necessarily the first thing I'd address if I was running the club, it's a decent loan deal and if the deal is made permanent after a loan, then's it's an even better deal.
Brian Tenerowicz:
Goalie wasn't the most important signing for us, but I feel Joe will be more consistent than Randolph and Adrian. It may not be a game changing signing, but it's a good signing nonetheless.
Wallace Milner:
I view the signing of Hart with cautious optimism. I didn't watch him during his time with Torino, but reports suggest he was quite poor. However, his time with Manchester City was fantastic. Signing an international quality keeper, and a premier league winner, is fantastic for his experience, if nothing else. Hart will be fighting for his place with England for the World Cup. For his sake, and West Ham's, there is little room for error.
Chad Hoy:
The Joe Hart loan deal can be seen from a couple of different angles. My favorite is that it's a smoke screen because the board is having a tough time finding striking talent. The other perspective is that the board saw a genuinely good opportunity to sign a world class player who will help the team along and who will give a morale boost to supporters and players alike.
Jack Kavanaugh:
The Hart signing is great. Although I'm not thrilled with the fact our first two signings of the transfer window have a combined age of 62 it should improve the leaky defense.
Plus it's been a long time since West Ham signed an England international. This is great news and will give some much needed defensive organisation to the team
I'm buying Joe Hart stock right now
Andrew Jones:
No matter how you feel about Joe Hart being signed with West Ham, whether you are in favor for it or against it, the fact that we have a new goalkeeper with at least three solid weeks of developing chemistry with his the team’s backline is something we all can agree is very important and good. It would have been disastrous if we signed a new goalkeeper right at the start of the Premier League season and before the transfer window closed in September, as it would have taken for chemistry to be developed during the season. Not ideal, and glad we avoided.
Now, I have favored this transfer from the jump, even with Joe Hart not being at the same form he was 2-3 years ago. Even in his current shaky state, he is still a better keeper over Adrian’s best form by a slight bit (Darren Randolph doesn’t even merit being in the discussion). With his England’s #1 position for the World Cup now in major question, and his desire to prove Pep Guardiola wrong for dispatching him out of Manchester City, Hart will be desperate to return to his optimum level.
Playing in London for a big enough club in West Ham, after doing almost the same at Torino, should be a boon for him. And if so, it will be a major boon to West Ham United.