Newcastle United reportedly missed out on West Ham United’s Joe Hart in January.
According to The Mirror, Newcastle United made a last-gasp bid to take Joe Hart from West Ham United, but David Moyes’ men wouldn’t sanction a deal.
It’s claimed that the Magpies were looking for a goalkeeper and had wanted to bring in Hart, who has been sat on the bench at West Ham ever since David Moyes became manager in November, with Adrian emerging as the club’s first choice stopper.
Hart is on loan from Manchester City and needs playing time to stand any real chance of being England’s first choice goalkeeper at the World Cup this summer, and Newcastle allegedly attempted to offer him that.
Manchester City were understood to be keen on the agreement, but despite offering West Ham a choice of Newcastle’s goalkeepers to replace him, Rafael Benitez couldn’t secure a deal for Hart.
Newcastle instead signed Sparta Prague’s Martin Dubravka on loan until the end of the season, and suddenly, Benitez and the Magpies may just feel that they received a blessing in disguise by not signing Hart.
Slovakian international Dubravka was outstanding on his Premier League debut against Manchester United on Sunday, not only keeping a clean sheet, but also making a host of fine saves and commanding his area admirably.
Magpies fans have taken to Dubravka quickly, and his move could become permanent over the summer. It’s early days, but Dubravka’s start to life on Tyneside suggests that Benitez has finally found a goalkeeper he trusts.
Conversely, Hart has endured a fairly miserable season. The 30-year-old was struggling for form with West Ham before being dropped, hasn’t played a Premier League game since the end of November and is certainly unwanted at Manchester City, with Benitez – and Newcastle fans – now possibly relieved that Dubravka was signed instead of the struggling England international.
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