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Guardiola rules out Hart return: 'I'm so happy with Willy and Claudio'

Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters

Manchester - Pep Guardiola has indicated that England goalkeeper Joe Hart's Manchester City career is over, regardless of how well he performs at Torino.

Hart has impressed in Serie A since his arrival on a season-long loan in August, having been frozen out by Guardiola.

The City manager decided on his arrival at the club last July that Hart was not suited to a possession-based style of football.

Claudio Bravo was brought in from Barcelona as Hart's replacement, but the Chile international has been unconvincing, losing his place to Willy Caballero, the veteran backup goalkeeper, in recent weeks.

Yet asked if there was any chance of Hart coming back, Guardiola shook his head and said: "I'm so happy with Willy and Claudio."

Guardiola has made clear that he would be content to go forward with Bravo and Caballero as his two goalkeepers next season.

It would mean sorting out a new contract for the Argentine, 35, whose current agreement runs out in June.

"There are five, six players out of contract but they know the situation. Of course there is a risk, maybe they can sign a contract for another club and we have to accept that. But we are going to decide in the last months of the season," Guardiola said.

On the possibility of signing another goalkeeper this summer, Guardiola added: "I will decide about that at the end of the season. I trust a lot in both and we'll decide - not just about the goalkeepers, the midfielders, wingers, strikers, full-backs. We are going to decide at the end of the season."

Asked if he might go into next season with just Bravo and Caballero as his senior goalkeepers, Guardiola replied: "Yes."

Guardiola agreed a three-year contract before taking over at City in July, and has the support of Sheikh Mansour, the club's owner, to continue beyond that.

The manager received that message when he met the owner during City's recent warm weather training break in Abu Dhabi.

Guardiola won 21 trophies in seven years as a manager before arriving at City, but is aware that winning the Premier League was not enough to save his predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini from the sack when they failed to build on that success.

"We didn't speak about targets. They will be happy if we win. I know we have to win but I've handled that in the past and I will in the present," he said of his discussions with the City brass.

"We spoke about private lives, families, the club. What my impression is after six months, half-a-year here."

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