Celtic v Utrecht – Return of Barkas, don’t be surprised if he plays a blinder

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The Celtic Star

·27 January 2026

Celtic v Utrecht – Return of Barkas, don’t be surprised if he plays a blinder

Paradise Revisited for Vasilis Barkas and don’t be surprised if he plays a blinder on Thursday night in what is a must-win match for Celtic…

Vasilis Barkas of FC Utrecht during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between SC Freiburg and FC Utrecht at Stadion am Wolfswinkel on October 23, 2025 in Freiburg, Germany. (Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)

Vasilis Barkas, remember him? The Greek keeper who we wasted the best part of £4.5 million on, when Neil Lennon signed him back in 2020 from AEK Athens. Yes that’s the very one, Barkas was that bad he made Gordon Marshall look world class.

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Despite arriving with a good pedigree at international and European level, it was pretty evident in his first few months he wasn’t Celtic class, and like the rest of the squad, he failed to impress in the infamous Covid campaign.

03.01.2026 Celtic v Rangers, SPFL Premiership. Wilfried Nancy and Kwame Ampadu. Photo : Kenny Ramsay

If Wilfried Nancy is going to be regarded as the worst manager we’ve ever had then Barkas is going to be a strong contender for the worst ever goalkeeper and up there as one of the worst ever signings given the astonishing fee we paid for him.

Vasilis Barkas Photo: Andrew Milligan

Barkas was eventually cut loose, and signed for Dutch side FC Utrecht on a permanent basis after a successful loan spell with the Eredivisie side, and is presently still in possession of the gloves at the Stadion Galgenwaard.

Isn’t his mother Dutch and he has family there so settling in playing his football in the Eredivisie has been much easier that trying to find his best form at Celtic in the middle of a global pandemic.

FC Utrecht of course are preparing to travel to Glasgow to take on Celtic in the final fixture of the Europa league group stage, and unlike ourselves, they have no chance of advancing.

The Dutch side are in a state of disarray at the moment, both domestically and in Europe. They currently sit 11th in the Eredivisie, due to a dire run of form, whilst they sit third bottom of the Europa standings with just a solitary point to show for their efforts.

HeereNVEEN – FC Utrecht goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas during the Dutch Eredivisie match between sc Heerenveen and FC Utrecht at the Abe Lenstra Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Photo ANP Sport/ IMAGO

We couldn’t have handpicked a better fixture to finish our campaign, especially as a win will guarantee us a play off spot, but playing a side who have nothing to play for always carries it’s danger. Last Thursday FC Utrecht boss Ron Jans opted to play many of his younger players as he had already written off the Europa League and quite understandably is concentrating on the perilous position his side is in their domestic league.

Ron Jans, Head Coach of FC Utrecht reacts prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between FC Utrecht and Olympique Lyonnais at Stadion Galgenwaard on September 25, 2025 in Utrecht, Netherlands. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

However at Celtic Park Utrecht, despite being out of the competition, will be wanting to end their campaign with a win to boost morale, and Barkas will be as equally motivated to silence more than a few critics in the Celtic support, myself included.

04-02-2023. Stadion Galgenwaard, Stadium of Utrecht. Dutch Eredivisie Divisie Football season 2022-2023. Utrecht – Heerenveen. Utrecht goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas on the ball during the game Utrecht – Heerenveen. Utrecht – Heerenveen. Photo IMAGO

Don’t be surprised to see him play a blinder. After all we have a history of ex-players coming back to haunt us on the European stage. We can only hope that the Greek international has yet another unpleasant experience in Paradise and this time we’ll actually be there to watch him playing.

It will also give him a chance to see what Paradise is really like when the Celtic support is there.

Green Brigade protest against the Celtic board during the Scottish Cup Fourth Round match between Auchinleck Talbot and Celtic at Rugby Park on January 18, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Pity though that the Green Brigade ban remains in place, as our self-harming Celtic Board continue to do all they can to derail our season. We’ve scaled back transfer content on here because we simply don’t believe these rumoured moves for players are going to happen.

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Glory to Their Name

It’s the last few days of the Half Price January sale at Celtic Star Books. Every book ordered is now just £10 and p&p is only charged on the first book at £4.50. So ordering three books will cost a total of £34.50 and given you a £30 saving. Order at celticstarbooks.com/shop

All Books Now Half Price in the Celtic Star Books January Sale…

These books now available at at HALF PRICE in our January sale – click on image to order…

Order from Celtic Star Books HERE!

Please note that p&p is priced at £4.50 is only charged on ONE book so you can buy as many of our books as you like and the postage cost will remain the same. Why not expand your Celtic library today?