The problem with first impressions is you only get to make one and, if Vasilis Barkas hoped to win over new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou during the first competitive game of 2021/22, he could have done without making a mistake that could come to define his Hoops career.
Or end it for that matter.
Flapping at a free-kick from Midtjylland playmaker Evander, Barkas allowed what should have been a simple catch to fly through his hands and into the Celtic net from the tightest of angles.
Eight days later, Celtic’s Champions League campaign was over by 28 July – an early exit by anyone’s standards.
That nightmare night at Parkhead is Barkas’ one and only appearance since Postecoglou succeeded Neil Lennon in the Hoops hot seat.
And unless Joe Hart pulls a hamstring between now and January, it’s hard to imagine another opportunity will come his way any time soon.
Especially with Homme du Match suggesting Celtic will look to strengthen their options between the sticks by bringing in Marco Bizot, the 30-year-old, 6ft 4in Netherlands international, on a potential loan-to-buy deal.
Has Celtic star Barkas played his last game for Postecoglou?
Bizot only joined Stade Brestois in August following a fine spell at AZ Alkmaar in Holland. But it’s understood he’s already planning a move from the Ligue 1 outfit having struggled to settle on French soil.
And if Bizot’s arrival is the final nail in Barkas’ coffin, he only has himself to blame.
After all, it was Barkas himself who picked out the plot of land and his preferred casket before burying any lingering hopes of a Celtic revival with one mistake too many against Midtjylland.
According to the Record, AEK Athens could come to Barkas’ rescue, offering an escape route to a goalkeeper they sold just a year-and-a-half ago for £4.5 million – the sort of sum that would make even the iconic statue of Arthur Wellesley outside Glasgow Gallery Of Modern Art shed a tear.
If that Midtjylland game was Barkas’ last in Celtic colours, it feels like a sadly fitting farewell.
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