Beginning of the end for Hart at Man City?

LONDON — Joe Hart fears his 10-year Manchester City career is over and that there is no way back for him under Pep Guardiola, with the club thought to be willing to listen to offers for the England goalkeeper.

Hart — who joined City from Shrewsbury Town in 2006 — was dropped to the substitutes’ bench for City’s opening Premier League game against Sunderland on Saturday and believes Guardiola — who admitted Hart was “sad, upset and unhappy” at being axed — is prepared to offload him before the close of the transfer window.

Guardiola is expected to keep faith with Willy Caballero for the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie against Steaua Bucharest in Romania on Tuesday (tomorrow morning, Singapore time).

Sevilla are thought to be interested in signing Hart either permanently or on loan, and Everton are believed to be among the goalkeeper’s potential Premier League suitors.

Reports in Spain on Sunday claimed City were moving closer to signing Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Guardiola wants a so-called “sweeper keeper” who is good with his feet and has harboured doubts about Hart’s ability to fulfil that role for some time.

Contrary to suggestions of frosty relations between the pair, Guardiola has insisted he has no “personal problem” with Hart, or midfielder Yaya Toure, who was omitted altogether from City’s 18-man squad against Sunderland.

But despite describing Hart as an “amazing goalkeeper”, Guardiola said he picked Caballero because he needed a goalkeeper who could build-up the play more quickly from the back and that the Argentinian had the benefit of a longer pre-season than Hart, who returned later to training after representing England at the European Championships.

“I’m pretty sure he’s not happy,” said Guardiola when asked how Hart had responded to being dropped.

“We have 28 players so there are a lot that have to convince me on the pitch, it’s the only way ... Today, Willy was the first choice. Maybe the next game there’s a change, or maybe not. I needed to build up and to use the goalkeeper to play quicker, to get the ball behind the lines, and Willy has this quality first of all and he has had more time.

“I know the quality of Joe. He’s an amazing goalkeeper, he plays for the national team and he was so important to win the two Premier League titles ... But I have to decide and today I decided in that way.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH