Joe Hart’s Manchester City future is under threat as he was benched for the first two games of the new season. Backup keeper, Willy Caballero has been between the sticks for City with rumours circulating that they’re looking for a new number one. In the few opportunities that the Argentine got last season, he didn’t look very comfortable. However, the English number one’s performances have dropped significantly. He’s always been a good shot-stopper, but his decision making has been very poor more often than not lately. A disappointing EURO where he directly played a hand in England’s elimination via Iceland seems to have been the tip of the iceberg.
These are 3 replacements City can sign:
1. Claudio Bravo- Bravo has been very good during his short spell at Barcelona so far. He won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy in his first season at Barca and was also a part of the La Liga team of the season. He also captained Chile to back to back Copa America titles in 2015 and 2016 where he finished as Best keeper both times. Although, it’s only been two seasons at Barcelona, a major reason why he might want to leave is that at Barcelona he is the League number one and doesn’t get to play in the Champions League. At City, he’d be the first choice in all competitions apart from perhaps the League Cup. The buzz in Europe is that Bravo might well be on his way to Manchester, however, an injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen might delay the process.
2. Kevin Trapp-Kevin Trapp successfully displaced Salvatore Sirigu as the number one at PSG last season. The German kept 18 clean sheets last season, 3 more than Hart. He also made 3.50 saves per goal which was again far superior to the Englishman’s 1.91 per goal. While Hart conceded 1.03 goals per game, Trapp conceded just 0.54. Although is the least likely as he moved to PSG just a year ago.
3. Jack Butland- Butland has been pushing Joe Hart to be England’s number 1 although an unfortunate ankle injury ruled him of EURO 2016. He was definitely one of the in-form players last season. His reflexes are terrific which aid in his shot stopping. His saves per goal ratio of 2.19 was higher than both Hart’s and Lloris’ who had 1.91 and 2.13 respectively. He’s only 22 and has a very bright future ahead of him as most keepers reach their peak late in their careers.