Hart: It was my decision to reject Sunderland

England international Joe Hart has revealed that he turned down a move to Sunderland with the view to testing himself in a new league.

The Manchester City goalkeeper was behind the likes of Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero at the Etihad, and this urged him to pursue a season-long loan with Torino.

Black Cats boss David Moyes had recently suggested that it was his decision to snub a move for Hart after he was impressed by Jordan Pickford's breakthrough.

However, according to Hart, it was the other way around with him being the person to have knocked back advances from the Premier League strugglers.

Hart also felt that a switch to Serie A with Torino appealed him the most given they are competing with the best in the top half of the table.

The 29-year-old has the option of extending his stay at Torino by a further year, should he be interested.