Joe Hart has committed his future to Manchester City by signing a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2019.
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The England goalkeeper becomes the latest City player to extend his stay at the Etihad Stadium, following the likes of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Aleksandar Kolarov, Samir Nasri and David Silva. The 27-year-old said: “I’m really happy, I’ve been here a long time now and I want to keep that going.”
Hart, a former Shrewsbury trainee, joined City in in 2006. He made his breakthrough as a senior player during a loan spell at Birmingham in 2009-10 and returned to City to supplant Shay Given as first choice the following season. He has since helped City win two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and League Cup.
Hart said: “The new deal means I get to stay longer – the club’s doing amazing things at the moment, we’ve created history and we want to keep doing that.
“Wanting to stay here was never going to be an issue for me – I’ve loved every moment since I joined.
“The club’s growing and I’ve been really lucky to be part of the ride.
“I just want to keep winning with the team and keep developing. A lot of the boys have signed long-term deals, so we’re building as a squad and I think that quite a few of us have been here for a long time now.
“We’re enjoying building that winning mentality, how the club is growing is around us and how we need to grow along with it.”
Confirmation of Hart’s deal had been expected since manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed an agreement was close a fortnight ago. Hart has re-established himself as City’s number one over the past year after being dropped by Pellegrini for a short spell following a series of errors in the autumn of 2013.
That decision by Pellegrini now looks to have been justified with Hart’s form this season – particularly after the signing of new back-up keeper in Willy Caballero in the summer – having been impressive.
Pellegrini is confident England midfielder James Milner will soon follow Hart in committing to the champions.
Meanwhile, City have no frontline strikers nor their captain Vincent Kompany available for today’s home game against Crystal Palace.
Forwards Sergio Aguero (knee), Stevan Jovetic (hamstring) and Edin Dzeko (calf ) could all be out until the new year while defender and skipper Kompany (hamstring) faces a similar lay-off.
Teenage striker Jose Angel Pozo, who made his first start against Leicester last week, could get another chance or the likes of James Milner, Samir Nasri or David Silva might play in a more advanced role.
Kompany suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury in his comeback match at Leicester last week while forward Dzeko hurt his calf in the warm-up. Pellegrini said: “The strikers, the three of them are out. We will try to play in another way. I hope that midfielders will arrive from the second line and we will score in another way. I know that we play against a team that defend very well also so we will see what is the best solution.”