Hart has won the Golden Gloves award for the most clean sheets in the Premier League for the past two seasons with 25 on his back but fortunately Joe’s not the superstitious type and doesn’t believe that changing his numbers will bring any adverse effects in 2012/13.
“I don’t know why I changed it, I just fancied a change but it’s only a number at the end of the day,” said the Shrewsbury-born stopper.
Joining Samir Nasri as one of two squad members to change numbers, Hart has apologised to any young City fans who’ve already invested in goalkeeper shirts with 25 on the back.
“I actually decided at the end of last season to make the change, so I’d just like to say sorry to anyone who already has 25 on their shirt,” said Hart.
Nasri swapped his 19 shirt for the number 8 which was vacated by Shaun Wright-Phillips after his move to QPR.
Of course, it’s not the first time that Hart has worn the number one jersey; he is now firmly established as England’s no.1, thanks to a string of rock-solid performances in the summer’s Euro 2012 tournament.
At the relatively young age of 25, Hart is already one of the elder statesmen at City, having signed for the club from Shrewsbury six years ago. He has made 165 appearances for the Blues and has been an ever-present in the Premier League for the past two seasons.
The number one shirt has been vacant since Shay Given left the club for Aston Villa in 2011.
The Blues returned to Carrington for training on Monday, the first time that all the Euro 2012 players have trained with the rest of the squad since May.
