Speaking recently on the Football Writers Podcast, Ade Oladipo stated that he does not understand Joe Hart’s decision to join Tottenham Hotspur.
After arriving at Burnley from Manchester City in what was a £3.51 million deal back in 2018, Hart went on to make just 24 appearances in all competitions for the club, conceding 48 goals and keeping six clean sheets.
With his contract expiring earlier this summer, Burnley made the decision not to offer the England international a new deal at the club, leaving him as a free agent.
However, somewhat surprisingly, Tottenham Hotspur then approached the 33-year-old, offering him a two-year deal, which Hart accepted.
In recent comments made while speaking on the Football Writers Podcast, Hart deciding to join Spurs is not something that Ade Oladipo can understand as he believes Hart’s move to Tottenham is essentially the goalkeeper giving up on his career.
He said: “I personally don’t understand it. I think Joe Hart could start for a Championship team. Maybe it’s the ego that makes him not want to fall out of the Premier League, but Joe Hart is good enough to go down to the Championship and play regularly for a couple of seasons.
“I think being third-choice [goalkeeper at Spurs] almost just ticks this homegrown quota, for me, rather than anything else. I think it’s a disappointing move. If I’m Joe Hart [I’d be thinking] ‘I want to play’.
“I think [Paulo] Gazzaniga is better than him, so when is he going to play? A couple of Carabao Cup games, maybe? Is that it? He’s pretty much waved the white flag.”
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TIF Thoughts…
From Oladipo’s comments, then, it would certainly appear as if he believes that Hart will not be anywhere near Tottenham’s current first-choice ‘keeper, Hugo Lloris, or even the club’s current second-choice, Paulo Gazzaniga, and that one of the reasons Hart decided on a move to Spurs was because his ego wouldn’t allow him to drop down to the Championship.
Hart brings the experience of not just playing in the Premier League, but the Englishman has also won the title on two occasions. In that sense, he adds some sort of value to the Spurs first-team even though he might not play regularly for the London-based club.