Journalist Michael Gannon has recently been talking about Vasilis Barkas and his time at Celtic so far.
Gannon was a guest on the latest episode of the Record Celtic podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Parkhead-based side. One player that they talked about was Barkas and Gannon believes that the goalkeeper suffers from not being Fraser Forster but he has ‘all the tools’ to potentially succeed at Parkhead.
Celtic signed Barkas from Greek club AEK Athens earlier this summer for an initial fee of £2.95 million. Celtic boss Neil Lennon had praised Barkas for his performance against Kilmarnock and he described it as an ‘excellent’ showing from him. Barkas is valued at £4.50m currently.
Gannon was talking about Barkas and he believes that the Greek goalkeeper has ‘all the tools’ to make an impact at Celtic.
He said: “I think he suffers from not being Fraser Forster, I think that’s his problem. It’s not his fault he’s not Fraser Forster. I think he’s fine, I think he’ll do a decent job for Celtic.
Can Barkas replicate Fraser Forster?
Yes
No
“I think he’s decent, he looks okay. It is early days, I think he said himself – he’s got to settle in, doesn’t he? He’s not quite there yet. So [it] will take a bit of time. It is hard for a goalie, playing behind a new back four, a back five, a back three – whatever it is. So he’s got all the tools.”
TIF Thoughts…
Barkas has been a regular for the Bhoys in the current season and has made eight appearances in all competitions. In the Premiership, he has played six games and has kept three clean sheets (as per Transfermarkt).
In the league, he has picked up a rating of 6.68. He has been the club’s 14th best player in the campaign and it shows that while he has been a regular for the club, he hasn’t been too impressive for the Bhoys.
This is only his first season at Parkhead, so he might still improve when he completely settles in. Celtic fans can only hope that he improves and really proves his worth at Parkhead.