Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart came under fire after his performance against Feyenoord in the opening match of the Champions League group stage left a lot to be desired.
The former England international failed to keep out a free-kick from Calvin Stengs despite the ball bouncing up in front of him before it found the back of the net.
France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry said, live on CBS, that Hart "should never" have allowed that shot to beat him and stated that the English stopper should have done better to keep it out.
However, despite his error in the Netherlands, the ex-Manchester City star has been a fantastic signing since his arrival in 2021 after the club had a big nightmare with their previous goalkeeper – Vasilis Barkas.
How much did Celtic pay for Vasilis Barkas?
The Hoops reportedly splashed out a significant fee of £4.5m to sign the Greek shot-stopper from AEK in the summer of 2020 and that move turned out to be a howler from then-manager Neil Lennon.
Fraser Forster
£2.2m
Rab Douglas
£1.9m
Magnus Hedman
£1.9m
Artur Boruc
£1.3m
Joe Hart
£1m
As you can see from the table above, Celtic paid a club-record fee for a goalkeeper when they decided to sign Barkas ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
Why did Celtic sign Barkas?
Hoops goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods reportedly regarded the AEK star highly and Lennon trusted his staff member's opinions alongside the evidence of his performances in his home country.
The 29-year-old dud started his career with Atromitos Athens and kept 11 clean sheets in 21 first-team appearances to earn himself a move to AEK in 2016.
Barkas then established himself as a star for the Greek side as he produced an outstanding 61 clean sheets in 111 matches in all competitions.
He immediately hit the ground running after his transfer to AEK as the towering stopper kept 12 shutouts in 20 Super League outings during the 2016/17 campaign.
By the end of his time in Greece, Barkas racked up 51 clean sheets in 83 Super League matches for his two clubs combined. This works out as one every 1.62 matches on average and shows that he was rarely beaten between the sticks.
However, there were some warning signs for Celtic as his displays in the Champions League during the 2018/19 season were less-than-impressive.
He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.65 across six matches and only saved 68% of the shots on his goal to go along with one error that directly led to a goal.
The AEK giant, who only completed 54% of his attempted passes in the competition that term, did not keep a single clean sheet and Lennon could have used these performances as a reference for how he would handle the step up to life in Scotland with the Bhoys.
How did Barkas perform for Celtic?
He came in for a huge fee, compared to other goalkeepers in the history of the club, and did not live up to the expectation that such a move would bring.
Barkas was not an outstanding performer for Celtic as he failed to produce consistently impressive displays in the Scottish Premiership during his first season in Scotland.
The left-footed flop averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.79 across 15 league outings and had a save percentage of 60% throughout the 2020/21 season under Neil Lennon as the Hoops failed to win the title ahead of their neighbours.
23 of his teammates averaged a higher Sofascore rating in the Premiership that term and this shows that he was far away from being one of the club's top players after his £4.5m switch from AEK.
He also struggled badly in the Europa League as the Greek international played both of the team's matches against Italian giants AC Milan during the group stage.
Barkas, who pundit Frank McAvennie described as "awful", averaged a dismal Sofascore rating of 5.6 and saved 30% of the shots against him over the two games.
How much did Celtic receive for Barkas?
The Hoops did not receive any of the initial £4.5m they paid for his services as they opted to release him from his contract, which was due to expire in 2024, earlier this summer.
This meant that Barkas left Celtic for £0, three years on from his big-money move to the club from AEK, and Lennon, therefore, had a nightmare with the signing of the Greek shot-stopper as he struggled on the pitch and cost the side a fortune.
Ange Postecoglou, however, arrived in the summer of 2021 and played a blinder with the signing of Hart from Tottenham Hotspur as the English titan enjoyed a terrific debut campaign with the Scottish giants.
How many clean sheets did Hart keep in the 2021/22 Premiership campaign?
The former Manchester City man kept 19 clean sheets in 35 Premiership appearances throughout his first season with the Bhoys and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.95.
Hart also saved an impressive 73% of the shots against his goal and this shows that he was a significant upgrade on Barkas, with his ability to keep the ball out of the net and his average performance level.
The veteran colossus also outperformed the Greek international in Europe with an average Sofascore rating of 6.86 and a save percentage of 61% across five Europa League outings throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
These statistics suggest that Hart offered far more to the Hoops than the £4.5m flop, which meant that Postecoglou did not have to persist with the former AEK star beyond the dud's disappointing debut season with the club.
Where is Barkas now?
The 29-year-old stopper currently plays for FC Utrecht in the Netherlands, after he spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with the Dutch side after he joined them on a free transfer during the summer transfer window.
Barkas has conceded 11 goals and failed to keep a single clean sheet in five Eredivisie matches so far this term and is not showing Celtic that they made a mistake to move him on this year.
The Greek liability endured a rough time in Scotland and his early performances so far this season do not suggest that he is faring much better in a new setting.