Out of favour £4.5m Celtic man given rare international chance

Celtic keeper Vasilis Barkas has been handed a rare chance to shine for his country, with the 26-year-old Greek selected for his country’s friendly at home to Cyprus.

Greece's goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas reaches for the ball during a Nations League encounter away to Hungary in September 11, 2018, (Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Barkas has endured a difficult transition since his £4.5m move to Scotland from AEK Athens with Scott Bain preferred in goal for the Scottish champions last four games. And the keeper has struggled to develop his international career since his switch to Glasgow.

Barkas earned the last of his 11 senior caps in a 2-1 win Nations League win over Kosovo in September this year. For the three internationals that have followed, he has found himself on the bench as Dutch coach John van t’ship has utilised £24m-rated Benfica keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and Panathiniakos No.1 Sokratis Dioudis.

The Athens outing will be a welcome boost for Barkas, who has been without a game since Celtic’s 3-1 Europa League loss at home to AC Milan almost a fortnight ago.

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