Manchester City Transfer News: Latest on Joe Hart Amid Pep Guardiola Comments

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has appeared to rule out the possibility of Joe Hart returning to the club, insisting he is "so happy with Willy [Caballero] and Claudio [Bravo]." 

Per ESPN FC's Jonathan Smith, that was the manager's response when asked if Hart could resume his status as City's No. 1 goalkeeper next year.

As for whether Caballero—whose contract expires in the summer—will stay on and where in the pecking order he'll be along with Bravo, Guardiola said: "I will decide about that at the end of the season. I trust a lot in both and we'll decide."

On a new deal for Caballero, the Spaniard added: "We'll think about that, but we'll make the decision at the end of the season. They have to try to keep going, to convince me every day."

Hart is spending the campaign on loan at Torino. Only Cagliari and Serie A's bottom three have conceded more than Il Toro's 42 goals this season.

Sports journalist Samuel Street criticised the England international during Torino's 4-1 defeat at the hands of AS Roma on February 19:

However, it would be unfair to place the blame of Torino's defensive record solely on Hart given he doesn't have that much protection in front of him—he's had a largely positive season save for the occasional gaffe.

Here's a selection of some of his highlights:

The stopper's replacement at City, Bravo, proved himself to be a reliable 'keeper at Barcelona, but he's been unable to replicate that form at the Etihad Stadium and has often been a liability for the Citizens—so much so that Caballero has been drafted into the team in recent weeks.

The Argentinian isn't a bad goalkeeper, either, but he's perhaps not good enough to be the first choice at a team with ambitions of winning the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.

Samuel Lovett of The Independent believes Hart should be allowed to return to City:

His numbers for the season would go some way to supporting that, via Squawka:

	Hart	Bravo	Caballero
Apps	24	19	6
Clean Sheets	5	4	2
Goals Conceded	38	25	4
Saves	69	26	7
Saves Per Goal	1.86	1.08	1.75
Distribution Accuracy	71%	74%	76%

Indeed, even his distribution—which appeared to be the reason he was replaced by Bravo—has been almost as good and has improved significantly on the 59 per cent accuracy he averaged last year.

Despite his reasonably good form, it appears there is no way back for Hart at City, and so he'll most likely be seeking a new club or looking to stay on at Torino come the summer.

If that is the case, former Sky Blues defender Richard Dunne believes Guardiola needs to dip into the transfer market for a new stopper, per TalkSport's Alan Brazil:

Bravo could still prove to be a strong acquisition for City, but he needs to be able to regain his form and confidence to do so, while Caballero is a fairly solid No. 2 but not overly convincing as a No. 1.

The pair need to show Guardiola they're worthy of a place in the side over the coming months.