In what could be seen as one of the best transfer deals this summer, West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has secured the services of England keeper Joe Hart for a season.
Joe Hart so far
Hart has been England's number one choice of goalkeeper for several years, winning 71 caps, but the disastrous Euro 2016 campaign sealed his fate with his new boss Pep Guardiola. After mistakes against Wales and international minnows Iceland, Hart shouldered responsibility and was offloaded quickly into Guardiola's tenure after starting only one match.
Having already won two premier league titles and an FA Cup at Manchester City where he had played for ten years Joe Hart found himself on loan with Italian Serie A side Torino.He played for the side 36 times in the league and received mixed reviews.
But this may have been the boost his career needed. He was doubtless suffering from dented confidence particularly for the national side when every single game is analysed in detail, and he needed the time away from the spotlight to rebuild his self-belief.
Moving to East London
The move to the Olympic Stadium represents a positive one for Hart. Manager Slaven Bilic has built a strong and determined team that had a creditable season in 2016-17 finishing 11th on 45 points. Bilic has the full support of chairman David Sullivan who is a great fan of Hart claiming he is "the best goalkeeper I've worked with." Sullivan, of course, had previously worked with Hart at Birmingham City during a loan spell.
The one sticking point that West Ham found was how to pay the star's £4.5 million annual wage bill. This has been resolved by The Hammers agreeing to pay Hart £2.5 million in wages and a £2 million loan fee to Manchester City. This loan will then be paid by the parent club to Hart to cover his contract for the coming season.
The move back to the UK was a logical one for Hart who will undoubtedly be looking to keep hold of the England number 1 jersey over rivals like Jack Butland and Fraser Forster. With the World Cup due in 2018 it makes sense that he should be looking to ply his trade in full view of the selectors and not overseas.
West Ham 2017-18
The Hammers will be looking to improve on their 11th place finish last season and have already signed Hart's ex-Manchester City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta after his contract expired. They are also looking to sign Austrian international Marco Arnautovic from Stoke City for an estimated £24 million. Hart is looking forward to the challenge ahead saying, "I've always loved the club....(Slaven) is doing a great job. It wasn't really a hard decision."
He could make his debut for the Hammers in a pre-season friendly against Fulham this week.