FC Utrecht are unlikely to sign Celtic loanee Vasilis Barkas on a permanent basis due to his hefty price-tag, the Eredivisie club’s goalkeeping coach Harald Wapenaar tells RTV Utrecht.
Two years ago, the Premiership champions stumped up an initial £5 million to sign the Greek international shot-stopper from AEK Athens.
The Hoops will have accepted long ago that their hopes of making a profit on Barkas – who never settled on British soil and struggled to cope with the physicality of the Scottish game – were next to non-existent.
Vasilis Barkas enjoying his time at Utrecht on loan from Celtic
Barkas’ contract expires in 2024. As such, the Utrecht loanee is likely to be available for a knock-down fee next year, with the Athens-born 28-year-old not part of Ange Postecoglou’s plans at Parkhead.
But there is a feeling at Utrecht that, even if Barkas is available for a fraction of that £5 million fee, he will still be too expensive for a club who have never paid more than £4 million for a single player.
“(Signing Barkas permanently) is a utopia,” says Wapenaar. “He made a transfer for about eight million euros from AEK to Celtic.
“When I saw that he was available and saw his data on the internet, I advised (technical director) Jordi Zuidam to take him.
“(Barkas) didn’t know me. I didn’t know him. And he first wanted a conversation with the goalkeeper coach (before signing for Utrecht). So then we talked for more than half an hour. That convinced him.”
Barkas has been in impressive form for an Utrecht side sitting seventh in the Eredivisie table. He has started every one of the club’s 13 league games, including a run of three successive wins which have breathed life into their hopes of European qualification.
“I enjoy it here and I feel at home. My family is having fun too,” Barkas told De Telegraaf in September. “I also enjoy the fans in Stadion Galgenwaard. They are crazy. I don’t feel any pressure.”
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