Ange Postecoglou reveals why Celtic signed Joe Hart

One of the most interesting moves that Celtic made in the summer was signing Joe Hart from Tottenham Hotspur. The Manchester City legend had struggled for the last several years and had not been a first choice goalkeeper for a while. Thus, while the Hoops did need to bring in someone to strengthen their options between the posts, eyebrows were raised about that being the former England international, who many considered well past his prime.

He has proven a lot of doubters wrong since coming in though, establishing himself as Celtic’s number one while also proving to be a leader of the team. That was needed as well, with Scott Brown leaving in the summer.

Last season, goalkeeper had been a position of problem for Celtic with Vasilis Barkas, Scott Bain and Conor Hazard all struggling. This time around though, there are very little worries with Hart between the posts.

Ange Postecoglou has now shed some light upon the thought process that went into Celtic deciding to make the move for Hart last summer. As reported by the Daily Record, the manager said:

"“Joe’s still young for a goalkeeper. I just felt he’s still got a bit to prove. He’s said himself, he needed a bit of love, and I knew he’d get it at this football club. I knew the supporters would embrace him and he loved it here with the group we were putting together.“There’s no reason he can’t keep it going for a lot longer.”"

He further added:

"“Is he a leader? Absolutely. That was one of the reasons we brought him in. We identified pretty early we’d lost some experience in the group and we wanted to bring some experience in to the team.“I thought Joe was a top quality goalkeeper. But the background we did on him showed to me is a first class person and a real leader in the dressing room.”"

Why Celtic signed Hart from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer

It is safe to say that the decision to sign Hart from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer has paid off for Celtic.

He has done a great job between the posts while serving as a leader of the team as well, as they close in on an unlikely Premiership triumph.

At 35 years of age, he might not be a long-term solution between the posts for Celtic, and the club might need to look for a replacement in the near future, but with the way that the Englishman is going, there is no reason that he could not be the number one at Parkhead for a year or two more.