A couple of weeks ago, not many would have expected that Celtic would be linked with a move for Joe Hart in this summer transfer window. Vasilis Barkas had made a bright start to pre-season and it was looking like he was finally finding his feet in Scottish football.
Since then though, Barkas has made a few mistakes and as a result, it was Scott Bain who started the second leg of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie against FC Midtjylland.
Thus, it should not come as a surprise if the club decided to sign a goalkeeper in this summer transfer window. And Hart is someone who they have been heavily linked with recently.
The 34-year-old has not been a regular starter for a team for a few years now. Currently at Tottenham Hotspur, he made 10 appearances and kept 5 clean sheets last season according to stats from Transfermarkt.
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Celtic handed Hart transfer boost
As reported by Football Insider, Hart is willing to take a pay cut in order to join Celtic. Of course, this will be a massive boost to their hopes of signing him this summer.
Now, it looks like it will come down to agreeing a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the goalkeeper. It is worth pointing out that the Premier League club have already signed Pierluigi Gollini on loan this summer. And that could definitely make things easier for the Hoops.
It goes without saying that at 34 years of age, Hart won’t be a long-term solution for the club. But it looks like it is a veteran goalkeeper that the Hoops want to sign this summer and they have also been linked with Ben Foster recently.
There are two ways to look at it. On one hand, it might be because they believe that Barkas will rediscover his form eventually and establish himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. On the other, it might be that they want a proven goalkeeper now as a short-term solution before signing a goalkeeper in the future, who they believe will be their long-term number one.