Jack Grealish has returned to solo Manchester City training after being exiled by Pep Guardiola and missing the Club World Cup.

The England star will hope to get his future sorted fast or run the risk of being left in a similar situation to Joe Hart in 2016.

4

The 63-cap goalkeeper was forced to look for a move away from City following the arrival of Guardiola as manager.

At the time, Hart had made nearly 350 appearances for City in all competitions since joining from Shrewsbury a decade earlier.

The then-29-year-old was England’s most senior player at Euro 2016 behind Wayne Rooney, but failed to suit Guardiola’s style of play.

The latter selected Willy Caballero as his first-choice goalkeeper for the opening three Premier League games of his Man City reign.

The £16million arrival of Claudio Bravo from Barcelona pushed Hart further down the pecking order and ended any chance of staying.

In late August 2016, Guardiola claimed that Hart did not have the time to become the kind of ‘sweeper-keeper’ he is looking for.

“I am not saying he’s not able to do it – with training he can do it,” said Guardiola. “With time. But his time is now. It’s not about what happens in six months, seven months.”

City and Guardiola even said that they would ‘find the best solution’ for the exiled England star to help him keep his international place.

Everton and Sevilla distanced themselves from a move, while Hart also rejected the chance to replace Jordan Pickford at Sunderland.

He played his final game in a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest before completing a surprise deadline day loan to Italian side Torino on loan.

4

Hart told Torino’s website: “Torino’s offer came at the right moment for me, in the right manner, and I’m very excited to test myself in an important and beautiful league such as Serie A.

“Everyone knows the history of goalkeepers in Italy, and I’m sure I can learn in Torino. That’s why I accepted President Cairo’s proposal.

“I already know [assistant manager] Attilio Lombardo, we won a lot working together in Manchester, and I hope to experience the same success this year.

“The coach here wants humility and ambition. I like that. That’s how I want to be.”

Torino had just finished 12th in Serie A the year before, and last won the Scudetto back in 1976.

Hart endured a rough start in Italy after committing a howler in a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta, who also called him ‘John’ on their team sheet.

4

He recovered somewhat to steady the ship, but Torino missed out on their goal of qualifying for Europe by finishing ninth in Serie A.

To add insult to injury, Torino President Urbano Cairo admitted that he ‘didn’t expect so many mistakes’ from the Man City loanee.

“Hart made a few mistakes, especially when coming out for the ball,” Cairo told Radio Deejay. “He is an important goalkeeper.

“We probably didn’t expect so many mistakes from an England international… but he did some good things, too.”

Torino did not sign Hart permanently after his loan spell ended, with the goalkeeper continuing his career in the UK, first with West Ham.

4

Ironically, nearly a decade later, the Hammers are the club offering Grealish a lifeline as he bids to reclaim his England place.

However, Grealish would have to take a serious pay cut on his £300,000-a-week deal at City for any deal to progress.

The emergence of the Hammers in the race for Grealish comes after Tottenham cooled their interest in the £100million winger.

In a curious case of déjà vu, Everton are also understood to be keeping tabs on Grealish’s situation.

Perhaps a heart to Hart is just what is needed…