Joe Hart at Torino: Has the England goalkeeper been a success in Italy?

Has Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart been a Serie A success with Torino? Adam Bate examines the stats and consults the journalists watching him in Italy to find out…

If highlight clips flatter forwards, it's a very different story for goalkeepers. So for those fans following Joe Hart's adventures in Italy through social media snippets it's likely that only the lowlights of his loan spell at Torino have captured the attention.

There was the weak punch on his debut away to Atalanta that resulted in a goal and a 2-1 defeat. The critics revelled in that one. The following month there was the spilled through-ball that rebounded off Inter's Mauro Icardi for the striker to score.

In November, the England goalkeeper fumbled a cross against Cagliari that required goal-line technology to spare him further embarrassment. More recently, Hart was the fall-guy when a puddle undid the Torino defence against Empoli.

Ultimately, according to Opta, the long-time Manchester City No 1 has been responsible for just the two errors leading to goals. That puts him among a group of six goalkeepers to have made multiple mistakes in Serie A this season but it does not tell the whole story.

Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic says that Hart's "presence makes the rest of the team feel more confident" and team-mate Joel Obi claims that the 29-year-old's mere presence has "changed the mood in the dressing room".

He is a popular figure and that's a view confirmed by speaking to Gianluca Oddenino, club correspondent for the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa. "The news that the England goalkeeper plays in Turin is still resounding now," Oddenino tells Sky Sports.

"He is in the hearts of Torino fans and is a big character in this team. Everyone likes Hart. He is very popular with the players and the fans - always helpful with everyone, fun socially and always smiling, even if he is conceding a lot of goals because of Torino's defence."

Matteo Pedrosi, Torino supporter and journalist with Corriere dello Sport, agrees. "Hart is having a good season in Italy, often making decisive saves despite the many goals conceded by Torino," Pedrosi tells Sky Sports. "They have the fourth worst defence in the league."

It is true that it is not always easy being the goalkeeper at a club that, despite being in the top half of Serie A, has conceded 46 goals this season. As a result, Hart's stats are not particularly impressive - he cannot compete with the top goalkeepers for clean sheets.

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But his reputation remains intact. The famous Gazzetta dello Sport player ratings give him an average mark of 6.25 this season. That might not sound too remarkable but it is superior to Pepe Reina and even the great Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

So where does Hart really rank among Serie A goalkeepers? "After Buffon and Gianluigi Donnarumma, the two real phenomenal players, it is Hart and Samir Handanovic on the list of special goalkeepers in the league," says Oddenino.

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Pedrosi adds: "In Italy there are so many good goalkeepers. If you were to place Hart in a hypothetical ranking system, we could put him after Buffon and Donnarumma, but at the same level as Reina, Handanovic and Wojciech Szczesny."

The prospect of Hart staying in Turin seems unlikely. "Hart's signature is too expensive for the club and City will never accept another loan on the current terms," says Pedrosi. With that in mind, the club have already acquired Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from Lechia Gdansk.

But Hart is on course to return to England better for the experience and having impressed in Italy both on and off the field. Perhaps those brief video clips will still resonate but this is the bigger picture that will really endure for those who have followed his adventure in Turin.