David Moyes is giving strong consideration to dropping Joe Hart against Chelsea on Saturday, casting doubt over the West Ham United goalkeeper’s status as England’s No1.
Hart’s form has been erratic since his loan move from Manchester City in the summer and his absence from last Sunday’s defeat by his parent club offered a rare chance to Adrián, who produced an assured performance on his first Premier League start of the season. Moyes was impressed with the Spaniard, who frustrated City with several fine saves, and it is thought that the 30-year-old has done enough to keep his place for the visit of Chelsea this weekend.
That would be a major setback for Hart, whose England place is under pressure before next summer’s World Cup. Gareth Southgate, England’s manager, has made it clear to his squad that they need to be playing regularly for their clubs and he has strong competition in goal, with Everton’s Jordan Pickford and Stoke City’s Jack Butland improving all the time.
Hart, who earns £120,000 a week, had hoped to revive his career at West Ham after being cast aside by Pep Guardiola. However the 30-year-old, who was inconsistent during a loan spell at Torino last season, has struggled despite arriving in east London to much fanfare. West Ham remain hopeful that they will still see the best of him, but their concerns have grown. Hart has conceded 30 goals in 14 matches and was heavily criticised after last week’s 4-0 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park.
West Ham are in 19th place before hosting Chelsea, have conceded the most goals in the Premier League and have not won since Moyes replaced Slaven Bilic last month, but they produced a better defensive performance against City. Adrián was a big part of that and there were already calls for him to start more regularly after he starred in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur in October. He is a popular figure with West Ham’s supporters and Moyes, who is determined to stamp out complacency within his squad, does not want to send out the wrong message by bringing Hart straight back into the side.
Moyes, who has picked up one point in his first four matches, will leave it late before reaching a final decision, but all signs are pointing towards Hart facing a fight to win back his place from Adrián.