Joe Hart ready to take huge pay cut and make shock switch to leaders
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart could be willing to take a huge pay cut and join Championship leaders Leeds United on a free transfer this summer.
The 33-year-old, who has 75 caps for his country, is currently with Burnley but has made just 21 appearances for the Turf Moor outfit.
Hart was originally snapped up by Sean Dyche for £3.5million in 2018 due to injuries to Nick Pope and Tom Heaton.
But with Pope back to full fitness and now part of the England set-up, Hart’s only starts for Burnley this season have come in cup competitions.
However, he conceded seven goals in those three outings as the Clarets crashed out of the League Cup to Sunderland and the FA Cup to Norwich.
And with Hart now down the pecking order at Burnley, his future looks to lie elsewhere.
According to a report in Football Insider, his new destination could be Leeds United.
Any such move would involve a huge cut in his £70k-a-week wages but it’s believed he would accept the significant drop in order to try and revive a career that has continued on a downward curve since he was an England regular.
Hart made 266 appearances for Manchester City after joining them from Shrewsbury Town in 2006 but since Pep Guardiola made it clear the stopper wasn’t part of his plans, the 33-year-old suffered difficult loan spells at Torino and West Ham and hasn’t been able to turn the corner at Burnley.
Leeds were top of the Championship before the season was halted but, despite being in golden position to gain promotion after a long absence from English football’s top tier, they too have had goalkeeping problems.
Kiko Casilla has held down the role since joining from Real Madrid in the January 2019 transfer window but has endured some difficult moments and was banned for eight games after being found guilty of racially abusing Jonathan Leko during a match with Charlton in September.
That has placed question marks over his future with the Whites even though the Spanish star is contracted until 2023.