Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner has some words of praise for current Hoops number one Vasilis Barkas whilst appearing on the Go Radio Football Show podcast.
Bonner has been impressed with how the goalkeeper uses his feet, in particular.
“He’s very comfortable”
“I think he’s got good feet on him, that’s what I’ve liked. I think he’s very comfortable with the ball coming back to him, and he fits in to probably the way Celtic want to play” Bonner said, as quoted on the Go Radio Football Show podcast (09/10/20, 44:32).
Barkas had big boots to fill when he signed from the Hoops from AEK for a fee of £4.5m in the summer. He was replacing Fraser Forster, a Celtic goalkeeper who can be considered a modern day Hoops legend.
Impressive record so far
However, so far he has done well in his brief Celtic career. He has kept eight clean sheets in 12 games so far, which is a very good return.
It is even more impressive when you consider that Barkas has not had a settled defence in front of him. However, that has not stopped him from racking up the saves, as Celtic have reached the group stages of the Europa League and went on a Premiership winning streak.
Of course, one of the biggest tests Barkas will face is a Glasgow derby. He will play, all being well, in his first next Saturday.
It won’t be easy for Barkas to match Fraser Forster’s derby feats. However, as long as he plays well on the day and helps the Hoops to the three points that will be good enough.
Barkas has played in big games in the past, he won’t be phased by the occasion. Going by how well he has played so far this season, Neil Lennon will have complete confidence in Barkas that he will turn in a good display in the derby.
In other news, Greg Taylor can improve his game by learning from Andy Robertson.
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