Hart not thinking about Manchester City return

Questions remain over Joe Hart's long-term future at Manchester City, but the England goalkeeper is only concerned with Torino at present.

Joe Hart says he is thinking only about performing well for Torino and not about his long-term future with Manchester City. 

The 29-year-old moved to Serie A on a season-long loan deal after falling out of favour with City boss Pep Guardiola, who signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona to replace him. 

Hart has had a mixed campaign in Italy, with some impressive displays against Empoli and Pescara undermined by crucial mistakes in defeats to Atalanta on his debut and Inter last Wednesday. 

Question marks remain over whether Hart will look to secure a permanent move away from the Etihad Stadium, but he insists that his focus for now is on helping Torino in their push for Europe.

"I'm happy at this club and I'm happy to have the opportunity to be here. I'm only focused on Torino," he said ahead of Monday's game against Udinese.

Hart accepted the blame for his error against Inter, when he failed to block the ball at the feet of Mauro Icardi for the opening goal, but maintains that Sinisa Mihajlovic's side, who sit eighth, are showing encouraging form. 

"I take responsibility but making a mistake is something that happens when you're a goalkeeper," he said. 

"I'm disappointed but, in terms of the team, we have to keep playing like this." 

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Former Manchester United 'keeper Luke Steele has good news for Joe Hart

Luke Steele believes he has improved immeasurably after swapping Yorkshire for Greece; good news for Joe Hart as he begins his Italian adventure.

Panathinaikos goalkeeper Luke Steele says playing on the continent has made him a more rounded player, something which could potentially benefit Joe Hart.

The former Manchester United youngster (below), who made his name in the lower tiers of English football with the likes of Barnsley and Coventry, has established himself at the Greek giants since his arrival in 2014.

And Steele believes Hart, who joined Serie A side Torino on loan last month after failing to fit into Pep Guardiola’s preferred tactical plan at Manchester City, can only improve by sampling different footballing cultures.

"[Playing abroad has] forced me to use my feet more, so that's a huge change," the 31-year-old told SkySports. “As a kid, I'd sort of lost touch with that at Barnsley because we did go long ball for many years.

"What they said [at Panathinaikos] is that the ball starts from the back and you've got to play with your feet. It's definitely made me a better goalkeeper.”

After swapping Barnsley for Greece, Steele’s pass completion rate rose from 48 to 62 per cent in just one season. 

Hart will face different challenges in Serie A, but he may be expected to play a greater role with his feet and could find the move to Italy helps him develop an aspect of his game that is less tested in England.

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Man City silence Hart trolls with BRILLIANT response

Borussia Monchengladbach have a joke at Manchester City keeper's expense but the club hits back with a smart reminder.

Manchester City have smashed an attempt by Borussia Monchengladbach to troll Joe Hart.

The German club took a swipe at the England goalkeeper after their fitness coach pulled off a good save during a practice match in pre-season training.

Markus Muller dived to his left, during his stint between the sticks, failed to hold the ball, but jumped to his feet and picked it up.

Gladbach could not resist comparing that to Hart's mistakes at Euro 2016 against Wales and Iceland, when he allowed attempts by Gareth Bale and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson to beat him.

They tweeted a video of Muller's save with the comment: “Not a bad stop either, Markus! Practically Joe Hart with a beard, except the ball didn't go in”.

City were not about to let that ride, and they hit back with a tweet of Hart's penalty save AGAINST Gladbach in the Champions League last season.

That time Hart dived to his right to beat away Raffael's penalty and earn the Blues a 2-1 win.

The City official Twitter account noted: “Nice save! What do you think of this one? It didn't go in either ...”

Gladbach, who are potential opponents in the Champions League play-off round next month, admitted defeat, replying “Fair enough lads. We don't mind admitting he was head & shoulders above on that day.”

England's Joe Hart could face old landlord Dave Edwards of Wales

Joe Hart could face his old landlord when England play Wales at the European Championship on Thursday and this time he hopes to make former teammate Dave Edwards pay.

The England keeper used to rent a room from Wales midfielder Edwards when the pair were at Shrewsbury Town together more than a decade ago.

Edwards, who now plays for Championship side Wolves, revealed that the Manchester City player was a messy lodger although he admits he was always destined for success.

"When I bought my first house in Shrewsbury -- it was just a two bed terrace -- Joe rented a room off me and helped me with the bills," Edwards told the Shropshire Star. "It was £50 a week -- mates' rates. We split the shopping, but he was terribly messy.

"At that point he was just starting to get interest from bigger clubs and different sponsorship deals, so there was boxes of clothes and boots everywhere -- he was very untidy. We're really good friends and still speak now, the possibility of playing against each other in a major tournament is bizarre."

Edwards has come up against Hart before and scored the winner in a Premier League victory for Wolves over City in 2010. He would love to score past his friend again with at least a draw against England in Lens set to secure a place in the knockout stages.

Thierry Henry slams Joe Hart for laughing at Manchester City mistake which led to Arsenal goal

Hart was seen sniggering when a Gael Clichy back pass hit the post and went out for a corner - which the Gunners eventually scored from.

Thierry Henry was critical of goalkeeper Joe Hart for laughing at a defensive mistake which ultimately led to Manchester City conceding a goal.

Just moments after Sergio Aguero put City one-nil up against Arsenal on Sunday, defender Gael Clichy attempt to head an Olivier Giroud cross back to Hart.

However, the French full-back misjudged his back pass and the ball hit the post before rolling out for a corner.

Television footage showed City's goalkeeper laughing at the mistake but his smile was soon wiped away when Giroud headed home the resulting corner to level proceedings at one-all.

Analysing the goal at half-time, the Sky Sports pundit said: "You have to give Arsenal a lot of credit. Giroud is alert and crosses the ball but you have to wonder why Clichy is trying to give that ball back to Joe Hart.

Olivier Giroud scored Arsenal's first equaliser of the match

"I cannot understand it really. You find yourself in the situation now where you put Arsenal in the position to have a corner kick and maybe score.

"The reaction of Joe Hart there - why are you laughing? Why are you laughing? You gave them a cheap corner.

"You can see him (Hart) actually saying 'away', 'away'. So Clichy should clear that ball, he's trying to be clever.

"But I can assure you, I played with Jens Lehmann, if you do that to him he would've grabbed you by the collar of your neck and let you know what he thinks about you.

In pictures - Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal.

"And what happened after? They score. I know Giroud didn't score for 15 games but his heading is one of his best attributes. For me I think it's just really poor."

City regained the lead in the second-half through Kevin De Bruyne but Alexis Sanchez equalised again to seal a point for the visiting Gunners.

The result puts Arsenal on the brink of a top four finish, but Manchester City must now rely on a slip-up by neighbours United to guarantee their place in next season's Champions League.

City are two points ahead of United but Louis van Gaal's side have a game in hand and will finish in the top four if they win at West Ham on Tuesday and beat Bournemouth at home on Sunday.

James Ward-Prowse: England will be fine without Joe Hart

Jack Butland and Fraser Forster will audition to be Hart’s understudy during the Three Lions’ friendlies with Germany tonight and Holland next Tuesday.

And Ward-Prowse, who is good friends with both, believes England are in safe hands.

England Under-21s captain Ward-Prowse lined up for the Young Lions with Butland but plays his club football for Southampton in front of Forster.

He said: “They are top goalkeepers and it wouldn’t be any surprise if they had to step in through injury and we were just as successful.

“I think all of the keepers are ready. Fraser has been in fantastic form.

“He has been the reason why we have been so solid at Southampton.

Hart fires title warning after City comeback

Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero left it until late to give the visitors a vital win at Vicarage Road, and their No. 1 believes the result was crucial for the club.

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes his side's last-ditch comeback victory over Watford sent out a warning to the rest of the Premier League.

The England international was beaten after 55 minutes at Vicarage Road on Saturday, as Aleksandar Kolarov put through his own net to give Watford the lead.

However, two quickfire late goals - in the 82nd and 84th minutes, from Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero - gave City reward for their persistence as they turned the game on its head to win 2-1.

The result hinted at the character within the City squad, who moved back to within three points of leaders Arsenal at the top of the table.

And asked after the match whether such a fight back was a sign that they could go all the way and recapture the title they last won in 2013-14, Hart was bullish. 

"We believe that and we want to make it happen," he told Sky Sports.

"Everyone is going to do their own season and no one is really going to care what I say, but that today is a big moment for us.

"It [the way they came back] can only be a good thing - but we have to build on this now.

"We are in a good place and are utilising the strength in our squad. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are close."

Victory ended City's poor recent record on the road, with Manuel Pellegrini's side having failed to win in their previous six away games in the Premier League.

But Hart insisted he was never overly concerned when they fell behind to Kolarov's own goal 10 minutes into the second half.

"I know it [a comeback] is in us," he added. "We are capable of doing that.

"The Stoke game [a 2-0 defeat on December 5] and games like that give you a bad feeling.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart pleased after Manchester City end winless run in away games

London: Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is pleased that they have ended a six-match winless away run in the English Premier League (EPL) with a 2-1 win over Watford at the Vicarage Road in London.

City's last win away came against Crystal Palace on September 12, since then their away performance has witnessed lossess against Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and Arsenal. They were only thriving at home to be in title contention.

On Saturday night too they conceded early with an Aleksandar Kolarov (55th minute), but City snatched victory with two late goals from Yaya Toure (82nd) and Sergio Aguero (84th) to bring an end to a poor away record.

With this win, City remain one point short of second-placed Leicester City and three behind leaders Arsenal.

"We’ve got to build on this now -- this result can only be good for us because it ends a run of six Premier League games in a row without a win which isn’t title-winning form, but we’ve somehow managed to stay in the hunt," Hart told his club's website mcfc.com.

“We’ve still got all the clubs who are around us to come to the Etihad (Stadium) and I think we’re in a good place. We’ve got a big (Capital One) Cup game (semi-final against Everton) to come now this week and even though we’re not where we want to be, we’re close and this was a big result for us.”

The England international picked out defender Bacary Sagna for special praise.

“I think great credit needs to go to Bacary Sagna tonight. He's played a lot of games because of Pablo Zabaleta being injured so for him to be flying down the wing like a steam train so late in the game and then put in a cross like that for Sergio to score from is fantastic. He has done so much for the team this season,” said Hart said about the France international.