Manchester City ready to let THREE goalkeepers go and slash Joe Hart’s asking price – reports – City Watch
Manchester City could soon be without any of the goalkeepers who were on the books in the 2016-17 season if various reports are to be believed.
Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror reports that the Blues have had no bids for Joe Hart since placing a £20 million price-tag on him, and are now prepared to lower their demands for England’s number one.
The Mirror states that Roma have made an enquiry about Hart, 30, something also revealed by TMW during the week, but would want City to lower their asking price and help cover Joe’s £130,000-a-week wages.
From the Premier League, there has been very little concrete interest in Hart so far, which isn’t ideal for the player who favours a return to English football.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola is willing to offload 34-year-old Claudio Bravo if a suitable offer arrives, The Sun on Sunday reports.
Bravo has insisted he is going nowhere, telling AS Chile this week, “My future is tied to Manchester City for a long time yet. All my life I’ve had competition. I knew the situation a long time ago and I am not worried.”
However, if the right offer arrives for the experienced Chilean, City are said to be willing to sell after he showed very little in his debut campaign in England.
The other goalkeeper on City’s books is highly-rated Angus Gunn, an England under-21 international who was on the bench late in the season following Bravo’s injury.
City are keen for Angus, son of former Norwich and Scotland goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, to gain some first team experience at the age of 21, and ready to send him on loan to his father’s former club Norwich for the coming season.
If Hart, Bravo and Gunn all go through the Etihad exit, it would leave Man City with only Ederson Moraes – who should finally be announced on Monday – as the only goalkeeper on the books. The Sun on Sunday reports that Pep would then seek out an experienced goalkeeper to play second fiddle to Ederson.
Pep’s former goalkeeper, Víctor Valdés, is a free agent after Middlesbrough’s relegation and might be open to a reunion with his former boss. The 35-year-old has previously been linked with a move to City, and is attuned to Guardiola’s style of playing out from the back.
angus gunn, claudio bravo, joe hart
