Celtic are no different to any other club when it comes to the transfer market because there are not any team in the world who have never had any significant flops.
It is just the nature of football that not every single signing made by a club works out perfectly, or else there would not be anywhere near as much business done between teams in every transfer window.
Martin O’Neill brought in the likes of Haissem Hassan, Kasper Hogh, and Mika Baur, among others, in the recent summer window and time will tell whether they will go down as successes or failures.
One of the most notably poor signings made by the Scottish Premiership giants in modern times was the deal to bring goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas to Parkhead in 2020.
How Barkas’ career at Celtic unfolded
Ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, Neil Lennon wanted to bring Fraser Forster back to the club, but the England international turned down the chance to return to Glasgow.
That led to the Hoops splashing out a whopping £4.5m to sign Barkas from Greek side AEK Athens, after he had kept 16 clean sheets in all competitions in the previous season.
Unfortunately, the Greek stopper was unable to carry that form over to Scottish football and only made 22 appearances in his first season at the club, before playing twice in the 2021/22 campaign, making a huge mistake against Midtjylland in his penultimate Celtic outing.
Pundit Frank McAvennie went as far as to say that Barkas was “awful” for the Hoops and that the club’s recruitment was not “good enough”, using the goalkeeper as a prime example of their struggles in that area.
|
20/21 Europa League |
Vasilis Barkas |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
2 |
|
Save success rate |
30% |
|
Saves made |
3 |
|
Goals conceded |
7 |
|
Errors |
1 |
|
Pass accuracy |
49% |
|
Clean sheets |
0 |
His European performances, in particular, left a lot to be desired as he conceded seven goals from ten shots in his first two Europa League matches for the Scottish giants.
Barkas’ disappointing displays in goal eventually led to him losing his place and going out on loan to Utrecht in 2022, before being released to sign for the Dutch side on a free transfer in 2023.
Celtic have their new Barkas and he is not a goalkeeper
Celtic wasted millions on the Greek international, who did not offer enough quality to make a success of his career at Parkhead, and there is an outfield player in the current squad who looks like the new version of him.
Last year, Brenden Rodgers was backed by the board in the summer transfer window and given funds to bolster his options at the top end of the pitch.
One of the signings made by the Northern Irish manager was the £5.2m addition of Tunisia international Sebastian Tounekti from Hammarby to compete on the left wing.
14 months on from that deal, though, the 24-year-old forward has yet to justify the significant transfer fee paid for his services, as he has struggled at the top end of the pitch.
Tounekti has scored six goals and provided four assists in 58 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, almost averaging a goal contribution every ten games.
Like Barkas, the Tunisian winger joined to be a first-choice option in the team, but his performances have led to him becoming a bit-part player for the Hoops.
|
26/27 Premiership |
Sebastian Tounekti |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
8 |
|
Starts |
2 |
|
xG |
0.78 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
1 |
|
xA |
1.17 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
1.3 |
He has only started two of his eight appearances in the Premiership so far in the 2026/27 campaign, after starting 18 of his 27 outings in the division last term.
In Hyun-jun Yang’s absence on Sunday, Tounekti started in the 2-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park and came off the ptich without a goal, an assist, or a ‘big chance’ created for the team.
The £8k-per-week forward has cost the club in excess of £5m, with a £5.2m transfer fee and £416k-per-season in wages, and has not done enough on the pitch to justify that expense.
Like Barkas, Tounekti may end up finding himself on the chopping block in one of the upcoming transfer windows unless he can turn his form around and show some consistency in the final third.
As it stands, the Tunisia international looks like a flop at Parkhead because of his lack of quality at the top end of the pitch compared to the money spent on him, making him the outfield version of Barkas.
