Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara believes Joe Hart is happy to play second fiddle to Hugo Lloris after defending his move to north London.
The former Manchester City goalkeeper has completed a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after being released by Burnley.
Hart’s form has suffered a serious decline over the past few years, with the 33-year-old losing his England number one spot after a poor Euro 2016 before falling out of favour at the Etihad Stadium.
Loan moves to Torino and West Ham didn’t work out, while he found playing time hard to come by after making the move to Burnley in 2018.
Hart has faced some criticism for choosing to make the move to Spurs, where he will certainly be behind Lloris in the pecking order, rather than take a step down the leagues in order to get regular minutes.
But, speaking on talkSPORT, former Spurs midfielder O’Hara defended Hart’s decision to make the move to north London.
“For me, a goalkeeper at 33 years of age, he’s looking at it and going ‘you know what, I’m not going to be number one anywhere, am I going to go and play in the Championship for Stoke or someone?’ No disrespect to them,” O’Hara said.
“Or he can be number two or number three at Tottenham Hotspur in a fantastic stadium with all these incredible facilities, and still earn 60 or 70 grand a week.
“He’ll play in the League Cup and the FA Cup probably, and if Lloris does get injured, he’ll play, but he’s definitely going in as the number two, he’s not going to be number one.”
O’Hara added: “For me, I think it’s a good move for someone who wants to go and watch a nice bit of football in a beautiful stadium at 33 years of age.
“I think there comes a time as a goalkeeper where you go ‘you know what, I’m happy now to be a number two’, and I think Joe Hart has chosen that moment.
“There’s no pressure on him now because everyone knows Joe Hart is going to Spurs as the number two, and he’s happy to sit on the bench and play his part when and where he’s needed.
“He’s not going to go in and put pressure on himself to think he’s still the number one. He’s still a brilliant keeper, he’s had a few bad seasons and completely fallen off the radar, but he’s not a bad keeper.”
