Joe Hart’s Future Still To Be Decided – Pep

Joe Hart’s future at Manchester City remains uncertain after new boss Pep Guardiola said the club is yet to make a decision over the England keeper.

City have been linked with a move for Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen all summer and there were reports that City are going to make a fresh move for the German international.

Guardiola wants a keeper who is comfortable with the ball at his feet as well as being an excellent shot-stopper, and there are question marks over whether Hart is up to the job — particularly on the back of a poor summer at the European Championship with England.

Asked about how important Hart was to his plans, Guardiola told a news conference: “Today is the day before the start of the Premier League game and so it not really the time to talk about that the markets.

“Joe is a player I’m so happy about his qualities, about his behaviour and what he means to this club. After we are going to decide inside the doors. Now, he is a player of us.”

Guardiola has yet to sell any players this summer after running the rule over his first-team squad in preseason.

But along with Hart there are doubts over the futures of Wilfried Bony, Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala, who didn’t feature in the final warm-up game against Arsenal in Sweden.

And while eight new signings have arrived at the Etihad, Guardiola refused to rule out any new players coming in or players going out.

“Aug. 31 is the last day [of the transfer window],” he said. “We are going to see at that time which players will stay, which players are going to be loaned, which are going to be sold and which players are coming.

“We are going to see, these three weeks, how is the game, how is the team, how is the smell. With Txiki [Begiristain], with the chairman, we are going to talk about that. We are going to decide.”

Bony, Nasri and Mangala were also left out of Guardiola’s Champions League squad along with injured skipper Vincent Kompany ahead of their play-off with Romanian side Steaua Bucharest. And the new City boss admitted he will reduce the size of his squad before the transfer window shuts.

“If we are able to reach the next step, the [Champions League] list is going to change and after Aug. 31, we are going to see which players stay, which player leave.

“Of course we have 28-29 players and of course we have to reduce our squad, that’s true.”