Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers may have to move to replace Joe Hart

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers may have to prioritise a move to replace veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart

• Brendan Rodgers must decide whether to replace Joe Hart ahead of the season 
• Hart has been a fine servant to the club but concerns exist over the 36-year-old
• Acquring a top quality goalkeeper is likely to be among Rodgers’ key priorities  

Back in February, Parma announced that Gianluigi Buffon had signed a contract extension until 2024.

Now plying his trade back at his first club in Serie B, the legendary Italian goalkeeper will be 46 by the time that deal expires.

Old Father Time can probably now relate to the frustrations endured by a generation of strikers across Europe. One of the greatest custodians the game has ever seen also seems to be impervious to the onset of middle age.

But while Buffon remains the best contemporary example of the potential longevity of a keeper’s career, it is also still very much an outlier.

While goalkeepers do tend to peak later than outfield players and are often capable of playing well into their 30s, a great number still discover that there’s far more to it than simply putting mind over matter.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers may look to replace veteran Joe Hart during the transfer window

Rangers legend Allan McGregor may hold regrets that he extended his career after turning 40

Rodgers must decide whether Hart still possesses the agility and sharpness at the top level

Allan McGregor will have few regrets from his own playing career but agreeing to stay on at Rangers last season after his 40th birthday will be one of them. Lacking the agility and sharpness he once had, he was simply no longer at the requisite level.

Across the city, it’s legitimate to now wonder if Joe Hart may have arrived at the same juncture.

The fact the Celtic keeper is five years McGregor’s junior is neither here nor there. Younger shot-stoppers than the Englishman have awoken to discover that their instincts aren’t quite what they once were.

Football moves at a breakneck speed. It’s brutally unforgiving. There always comes a day when even the very best of them have to reconcile themselves with the fact that no one goes on forever.

Culpable as Anderson Lopes helped himself to an early tap-in in Yokohama F. Marinos’ 6-4 win over Celtic on Wednesday, the growing perception is that Hart may now have reached the tipping point.

That the former England keeper has been a fine signing for the Parkhead club on and off the field over the past two years is not worthy of debate. He provided the calming influence Ange Postecoglou needed after a rocky start.

A significant upgrade on the unconvincing Vasilis Barkas, Hart deputised for Callum McGregor when the skipper was sidelined with injury.

But time and tide wait for no man. With Champions League football and a taxing league campaign stretching out ahead, Brendan Rodgers can ill-afford to be selecting anyone based on past reputations.

Hart was at fault for the first goal of Celtic’s 6-4 friendly defeat against Yokohama F. Marinos

Rodgers did not provide a ringing endorsement to Hart following Celtic’s opening tour match

Hart was a crucial part of the Ange Postecoglou era but concerns remain over the 36-year-old

In the aftermath of the opening game of Celtic’s tour of Japan, it was intriguing to note that while the returning manager naturally didn’t hang Hart out to dry, nor did he issue a ringing endorsement of the former Manchester City man.

‘It’s a period of the season where we are only a few weeks in and assessing every player and where we are at,’ he said.

‘We could have been better for the first goal before it got to Joe. It’s 25 yards out and we have a player turning inside our organisation, which shouldn’t happen.’

While it always feels harsh to castigate any player for making an error in a pre-season friendly — that is, after all, one of the main purposes they serve — the concern that the 36-year-old’s blunder raised among Celtic supporters was understandable.

Hart didn’t cover himself in glory during his side’s 3-0 loss at Ibrox in May. The following week, he let Curtis Main’s weak shot roll under him as St Mirren took a point from Celtic Park. Back in October, he’d erred horribly as his side lost 3-1 in Leipzig in what proved to be a pivotal Champions League match.

Even as Celtic motored towards the Treble under Postecoglou last term, Hart was not blinded to the fact that the clock was ticking.

Speaking after keeping a clean sheet in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Rangers, he said: ‘I can only speak for myself personally but there aren’t that many (more finals) I’m going to be playing in,’ he said.

‘I’m not in the middle of my career. I’m not at the start. I’m coming towards the end.

‘I don’t try to savour these days more. I just do.’

Hart erred horribly in a key Champions League tie last season and Celtic cannot afford a repeat

Even if Hart hadn’t made a clanger with his first involvement in Japan, his position in the side would still be under scrutiny.

Back in 2016, Craig Gordon discovered to his cost that Rodgers likes his goalkeepers to have complete mastery of the ball at their feet.

The Scot eventually reclaimed his place from Dorus de Vries but that was only after the Dutchman had succumbed to injury.

Hart has never been at his most comfortable when playing out on the ground — it was one of the reasons why Pep Guardiola ousted him from City — and he’s plainly not going to improve on that discipline at this stage. It’s becoming an enormous call for the Celtic manager — by far the biggest of any he’ll make before hostilities resume against Ross County.

Misplaced faith in Jon McLaughlin and an ageing McGregor contributed hugely to Giovanni van Bronckhorst losing his job at Rangers last season. Yet, despite that obvious weakness at the heart of their team, the Ibrox side only finished seven points adrift of Celtic.

With money to spend, it’s hard to see Rodgers not attempting to get in front of the issue. Hart has a year left on his contract but is hardly going to be happy seeing that out from the bench.

Benjamin Siegrist and Scott Bain are both contracted until 2026 but it seems highly unlikely Rodgers would view either man as a suitable replacement for Hart in the event that the veteran is sold.

Dominik Livakovic’s £7m move from Dinamo Zagreb to Fenerbahce means the Croatian international is tied up but acquiring a goalkeeper of such pedigree is fast becoming Rodgers’ top priority.

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