Vasilis Barkas offers Celtic future hint during Utrecht career revival as he offers 'no pressure' verdict

Celtic flop Vasilis Barkas admits he is loving life on loan at Utrecht as the stopper was put on the spot about his long-term future in the Eredivise.

The 28-year-old escaped the Parkhead fringes to join the Dutch outfit on a season-long loan agreement after failing to make the grade since leaving AEK Athens for Celtic in a bumper £4.5million deal back in 2020. He failed to hold on to a regular starting spot with Conor Hazard and Scott Bain being preferred during his debut campaign, before Ange Postecoglou made Joe Hart his undisputed number one last summer.

The addition of Benjamin Siegrist added further competition between the sticks with the Scottish champions, and Barkas appears unlikely to get a second chance in Glasgow's east end next summer when his loan in the Eredivisie comes to and end. However, his form in the Netherlands has earned him a recall to the Greek international set-up by Gus Poyet as he gets his career back on track.

Following another clean sheet in the 1-0 win over Vitesse, Barkas was asked about the prospect over a permanent departure from Celtic. He told De Telegraaf: "I enjoy it here and I feel at home. My family is having fun too.

"I also enjoy the fans in Stadion Galgenwaard. They are crazy. I don't feel any pressure. I have a contract until the end of the season."

Last season's number one Fabian de Keijzer has returned from injury having missed the opening stages of the campaign. However, Barkas was calm over his prospects over keeping his spot in the starting line-up.

He added: "If the club thinks Fabian should be number one, then I have to accept that. Of course I do everything I can to stay under the bar for as long as possible.”

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