Noble defends Hart as goalkeeper nears West Ham switch

Michael Graham

England goalkeeper Joe Hart has been ‘hard done by’ over the last few years, according to West Ham captain Mark Noble.

The Manchester City stopper has seen his star plummet recently and is expected to join West Ham soon after being frozen out by Pep Guardiola at The Etihad.

However, in preparing to welcome Hart to the club, Noble has defended the England number one.

“In my opinion, [Hart] has been a little bit hard done by in recent years,” Noble told Sky Sports.

“He has been fantastic for England and for his club for the last 10 years and he probably deserves a little bit more respect.

“I’ve known Joe for a long time, we played for England Under-21s together years ago.

“He is obviously a fantastic goalie but at the minute he is not our player.

“We have got two really good goalies [Adrian and Darren Randolph] here so it would be more competition for them.”