Manchester City's troubled end to the season has been further compounded by Joe Hart turning down a new contract offer by the club.
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Although the England Under-21 goalkeeper still has two years to run on his present deal, City's failure to tie him down to a longer term contract will alert the big Premier League clubs to his availability.
Hart has been in exceptional form for City this season with England manager Fabio Capello singling him out for praise on more than one occasion when asked about England's long-term goalkeeping prospects.
Earlier this month Hart, 21, was voted City's young player of the season.
Hart is currently earning just £5,000 a week, vastly below a number of his contemporaries and though City offered to double that amount Hart believes his performances as a first-team regular merit further reward.
Micah Richards signed a contract extension in February that propelled him to ten times Hart's current salary, a fact of which Hart is acutely aware.
There would be a number of high profile clubs willing to take the youngster off City's hands and several are waiting for further developments in Sven Goran Eriksson's protracted departure before seeking to take advantage of the disquiet at the club.
Were Hart to leave City would be faced with a goalkeeping shortage with Kasper Schmeichel and Andreas Isaksson both considering their positions and looking for permanent deals elsewhere, too.
