Former Manchester City assistant coach David Platt has denied claiming that the club were poised to boot out goalkeeper Joe Hart in favour of Stoke City shot-stopper Asmir Begovic.

The 47-year-old is believed to have stated during a stint on Al Jazeera that Hart would have been sold had Roberto Mancini kept his job as manager.

Following the alleged comments, Platt wrote on Twitter: "Surprised to hear about my quotes on Hart today. On holiday! Did Liverpool v Stoke last week and said we liked Begovic but had Joe Hart."

Mancini was sacked following City's FA Cup final defeat to Wigan Athletic last season, and swiftly replaced with Manuel Pellegrini.