Celtic goalkeeper Dorus De Vries is not hugely popular in Glasgow just yet.
Jonathan Gould has told The Glasgow Evening Times that he believes Celtic’s Dorus De Vries to be an “outstanding goalkeeper”.
The Dutchman joined Celtic in August as manager Brendan Rodgers sought to provide better competition for Craig Gordon.
Rodgers, who worked with the 35-year-old at Swansea City previously, swiftly made him his number one keeper but time proved it may have been the wrong decision.
The former Nottingham Forest stopper played Celtic’s first four Premiership outings, as well as the 7-0 Champions League defeat away to Barcelona, but he did little to endear himself to the Parkhead faithful early doors.
He has since been dropped for Gordon, but former goalkeeper Gould, who spent six years with the Glasgow club, is convinced that De Vries is the real deal.
“I have watched both Gordon and De Vries during his time at Swansea and I have to say there is very little between them. They are both outstanding goalkeepers,” he told The Glasgow Evening Times.
“De Vries might just need a little bit of time to understand what playing for Celtic means, but I remember he had a record 25 clean sheets at Swansea and I can tell you, that is something that takes some doing.
“He can be outstanding on his day and the way he came back from spending two years out of the game to performing at such high level tells you everything about him as a character.”
De Vries might be outstanding on his day, like Gould says, but the same probably applies to any professional goalkeeper.
The truth is that Rodgers took a big chance on De Vries by affording him a number of games early on, and the veteran did not repay his manager’s faith in him.
He signed a two-year deal with the Hoops, so there is plenty of time to turn things around, but first impressions are lasting ones and it might be tough to convince Celtic fans that he is worthy of a spot in their team.
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