Manchester City planned to replace goalkeeper Joe Hart with Asmir Begovic

May 25, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart (1) looks back while being taunted by Chelsea fans during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Former Manchester City assistant manager David Platt made some news today. Platt revealed the plan that he and former manager Roberto Mancini had for the  English Premier League season.

"“If Mancini and I were still at Man City this year Joe Hart wouldn’t be there. We made a decision to sign Asmir Begovic.”"

Clearly, Platt an Mancini had enough of the English national team’s goalkeeper between the pipes and were headed in another direction. Begovic plays his club ball with Stoke City, while Hart remains with Manchester City. Just a year removed from an EPL title, Mancini was canned, and Platt followed him out the door.

After City’s 3-2 loss to Cardiff City is when Platt’s comments came to the surface. It was clear that two of Cardiff’s goals were possible due to crucial mistakes made by Hart. In a 3-2 friendly victory over Sweden with his national team, Hart also managed to let a shot from James Morrison squeeze by to cut England’s lead to just one goal.

Begovic has been in-form for some time now, and has been linked to potential transfers to European juggernauts such as Manchester United and Arsenal. The 26-year old goalkeeper is viewed as one of the top goalkeeping prospects on the market, and to this point in his career, he has only gotten better with experience.

Despite being current manager Manuel Pellegrini’s clear-cut choice for the first-team, former Manchester City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver believes that grabbing some pine next to Pelligrini sometime soon may be in his best interest. However, he had these words of encouragement for the man between the pipes for his former team.

"“When I look back at my career I played a lot of games early on and it might have been good if someone pulled me out of the team for four or five weeks, then you could come back refreshed and recharged. I’ve got no concerns about Joe [in the long-term], he’s a world class goalkeeper and every game that Man City play at the moment is in the spotlight.He’s played a lot of football in the last couple of years. I’m sure Joe will bounce back, it’s a big season for him and I’m sure he’ll be great. He’ll be back to his best very soon.”"