£6.5m wasted: Celtic were rinsed dry by “awful” flop who had his contract terminated – opinion

HOOPS REVIEW: As SFA battles Celtic, holding back is no longer an option.
HOOPS REVIEW: As SFA battles Celtic, holding back is no longer an option.

£6.5m wasted: Celtic were rinsed dry by “awful” flop who had his contract terminated – opinion

£6.5m wasted: Celtic were rinsed dry by “awful” flop who had his contract terminated – opinion Following Joe Hart’s announcement
that he will be retiring at the conclusion of the season, Celtic will be searching for a new

goalkeeper during the summer transfer window.

The 36-year-old goalkeeper has been an incredible asset to the team since joining Ange Postecoglou on a permanent basis from

Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2021.

Hart started 72 of the club’s 76 Scottish Premiership matches between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns

as the Hoops won the title in both seasons.

Vasilis Barkas, the massive flop the former England international replaced at Parkhead less than three years ago,

was Celtic’s biggest disappointment.

How much Celtic paid to sign Vasilis Barkas

Former Hoops manager Neil Lennon pounced to sign the goalkeeper from Greek team AEK Athens in the summer of 2020 for a

reputed £4.5 million, plus $1 million in salary annually.

Barkas failed to secure a regular berth in the starting lineup for the Scottish giants,

therefore the deal did not work out as planned for any of the parties involved.

After starting nine of the team’s first ten Premiership games, he only made five more appearances

on the field throughout his 16 games as a substitute.

Throughout the 2020–21 league season, Scott Bain—a Scottish goalkeeper—became Lennon’s first-choice option in goal, stopping 69%

of the shots that were directed at him.

On the other hand, Barkas, who was labeled “awful” by analyst Frank McAvennie, only stopped 60% of the shots on target in 15

Premiership games, indicating that he was not competent enough to start ahead of Bain.

Following his signing, Hart played in just one league game for Celtic that season, giving up one goal and making zero saves.

Hart was a Greek goalkeeper.

How much Barkas cost Celtic in total

For the 2022–2023 season, the Hoops sent him on loan to FC Utrecht in the Netherlands; however,

it is unclear how much the Hoops paid for his salary.

The left-footed flop cost Celtic £2 million in salary during his first two years in Glasgow, on top of the £4.5 million they paid AEK to

sign him in 2020. If his wage were paid in full, Celtic would have saved £1 million last season.

In the summer of 2023, the Scottish giants then gave him a one-year contract termination early, having originally signed him to a

contract that would have lasted until 2024, so he could sign for Utrecht on a free transfer.

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