Joe Hart's sudden and quite unexpected fall from grace has been somewhat harsh to watch. For a man of his incredible pedigree and an extremely successful career, one could simply not see this coming. But the 33-year-old free agent is now reportedly close to joining Celtic, as was relayed by the Sun who say the Scottish Premiership giants were installed as the odds-on favourites for his signature.
Of course, Celtic are a great team themselves and Hart would surely not mind playing for them but what makes this turn of events surprising is the fact that the Parkhead club are reportedly closing in on a different goalkeeper, AEK Athens' Vasilios Barkas, to be more precise.
So it's definitely weird that they would suddenly have a change of heart or, what's even more unlikely, grab two goalies in the same window.
What we do know for sure, however, is that Neil Lennon is indeed on a lookout for a new no.1 ever since Fraser Forster's loan deal has expired and where there is smoke, there is also usually fire.
But the deal for Barkas was so certain that it was largely expected to be announced in the coming days with even the price of around £4.5m plus add-ons being quoted by various media outlets.
This would indeed be a major change but one that Hart would ultimately welcome for sure. Let's see if it actually ends up happening.
Verdict
These last months following the expiration of his contract with Burnley must have been extremely hard on the ex-England international but this new report could throw him a lifeline after all.
However, with Celtic being so heavily linked with a different man, the 33-year-old shouldn't get his hopes up yet. But, as he himself was quoted saying recently, if someone takes a leap of faith and shows him some trust, which is something many of the fans out there don't seem to have anymore, he is sure to repay it handsomely.
After all, you don't become a two-time Premier League winner and get 75 caps with the Three Lions for nothing.
There is still quality in Hart, he just needs a stage to showcase it.