Joe Hart has returned to the West Ham side in fine form of late.
West Ham United defender Patrice Evra has told Sky Sports that he gave on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart a pep talk when he signed with the Hammers back in February.
Hart, 30, has returned to the Hammers starting line-up after being dropped by David Moyes in favour of Adrian towards the end of 2017. But Hart has played West Ham’s last three Premier League matches, keeping a clean sheet against Southampton.
But it was his performance against Chelsea that has got people talking again, with many hopeful that the old Hart is back after a difficult spell that saw him struggle at Euro 2016, dropped by Man City and loaned to Torino and then West Ham.
World-class saves to deny Olivier Giroud, Willian and Marcos Alonso have seen pundits and players alike call for Hart to be reinstated at England level. Evra claimed that he spoke to Hart upon joining, telling him to “never give up”.
“I remember when I came and Joe wasn’t playing and Adrian was playing and I say ‘Joe, come on, you need to play – the World Cup is coming soon’,” Evra said.
“He was really confident. I said ‘you’re time is coming, never give up’ and you can see the game he played against Chelsea. He was man of the match, well deserved, and even today at training he was still man of the match.”
Evra joined the Hammers as a free agent after he was released by Marseille following an incident with a fan ahead of the French club’s Europa League clash against Portuguese side Vitoria.
He has since impressed in bit-part fashion at the London Stadium, showing experience and determination when called upon by former Manchester United boss Moyes.
Hart is expected to start on Monday night as the Hammers play host to Stoke City in a match that could prove crucial come the end of the season at the bottom of the Premier League.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
