Pundit assesses Celtic chances of being able to land ‘outstanding’ Joe Hart replacement

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers knows he has a difficult task on his hands to replace retiring goalkeeper Joe Hart this summer.

Now, into the final five matches of his professional career, Hart has been spotted enjoying every moment of post-match celebrations from the Hoops’ support, and he will be desperate to end with a Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup double before hanging up his gloves.

This campaign, the former England international has come up with some terrific stops in crunch moments, recording a 70% save rate from 80 shots on target faced in the Scottish Premiership [FBRef].

Keeping 15 clean sheets in 44 appearances across all competitions, the Shrewsbury-born man has proved the doubters wrong, rising to every challenge thrown his way in the twilight of his playing days [Transfermarkt].

Nevertheless, suggestions are also flying regarding his potential replacement, with Michael Zetterer, Anthony Patterson, and Ugurcan Cakir all prominently mentioned by various media outlets as Hart’s prospective future successors.

Former Premier League stopper Asmir Begovic, who is now on the books of Queens Park Rangers, has also been put forward as another mooted target, and he is out of contract at the end of the campaign.

Nonetheless, he is said to be open to extending his stay in West London, which may halt any notion of a switch north of the border.

Carlton Palmer on Asmir Begovic to Celtic links

Begovic wouldn’t be a long-term solution between the sticks, seeing as he will be 37 by the time the 2024/25 campaign kicks off. In this campaign, he racked up 13 clean sheets in 45 outings in the Sky Bet Championship, per Transfermarkt.

However, the ex-Bosnia & Herzegovina number one possesses a wealth of experience gained from spells at Portsmouth, Stoke City, Chelsea, Bournemouth and AC Milan, to name a few.

Speaking to Football League World, former England international Carlton Palmer believes Celtic may have a job on their hands if their interest in Begovic is legitimate, as his current employers will be desperate to tie him down following some ‘outstanding’ exploits this season.

He stated: “Celtic’s Joe Hart is retiring after a fabulous career in the game. He’s been outstanding at every club he has been at, and has been a very consistent performer, so Celtic are looking for a replacement

“Apparently they’re interested in QPR goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. He’s been outstanding for QPR this season, and he’s out of contract this summer, and he’s 36, nearly 37. Before survival, they didn’t want to talk about who they wanted to keep, but now they’ve survived, I’m sure that they’ll be opening contract talks with Begovic, who has played 46 games this season.

“As a goalkeeper, his age makes no difference, and I’m sure they’ll want to keep him in the building if they could.

“You can’t offer contracts until you know which league you’re going to be playing in. Now they know they’re going to be playing in the Championship, I’m sure Begovic is one of those that they’ll be wanting to tie down as soon as possible – he has been outstanding for them this season.”

Celtic need to swiftly sort out the goalkeeper situation

With pre-season coming around the corner swiftly in modern Football, Celtic can’t afford to be caught short in their hunt for a goalkeeper once Hart exits the building.

Having a sustained period on the training field to forge relationships between both lines of defence will be crucial; however, it remains to be seen which direction Rodgers will take come the summer transfer window.

Should high-profile signings with sell-on value prove unviable, acquiring an experienced stopper in the mould of Begovic could become a realistic prospect.