For many, one of the biggest surprises of transfer deadline day has come courtesy of Joe Hart.
The Manchester City goalkeeper completed his loan switch to Serie A club, Torino, after Pep Guardiola made it quite clear that he wouldn’t be first choice between the sticks at The Etihad this season.
But it’s not his season-long stay in Italy that’s the surprise bit…
Instead, it’s the fact that many, many football fans have only just discovered his real name isn’t actually ‘Joe Hart’.
A statement from Torino not only confirmed that the England goalkeeper had signed for the club, but also that his official first name is indeed ‘Charles’. It turns out the Joe bit derives from one of his middle names.
Charles Joseph John Hart. pic.twitter.com/MOucf5tegd
— Si Lloyd (@SmnLlyd5) August 31, 2016
It might have been on his Wikipedia page from day one, but the news clearly came as a surprise to many…
Eh? Joe Hart's real name is Charles Hart?
— Alex Shaw (@AlexShawTel) August 31, 2016
Joe Hart's real first name is Charles 😂😂😂
— Daisy Lynch (@DaisyGLynch) August 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/Cynically_Red/status/770951014941921280
(Probably since the first day of his life, actually)
It didn’t take long before Charles Joseph John Hart’s name was being plastered all over Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Terry_Nutkin/status/770942061151477760
https://twitter.com/MatchoftheDave/status/770940550698721282
"Charles Joseph John Hart, better known as Joe Hart…" https://t.co/iaUuBMHdml
— James Dall (@JamesDall_) August 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/umangapooudel/status/770941695634452480
https://twitter.com/EoinyPony93/status/770943460476088320
Charles Joseph John Hart is expected to join back up with the England camp ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia before meeting up with his new teammates in Italy. Torino’s next match sees them travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta, a game that could be his debut for the club.
The new GAA Hour football podcast is here. Listen to Colm Parkinson, Senan Connell, and Barry Cahill dissect a classic between Dublin and Kerry. Subscribe here on iTunes.
