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Should Celtic take advantage, with Arsenal reportedly ready to sanction loan?
Vasilis Barkas has endured a poor start to life at Celtic. Signed for a princely sum of £4.5million, many Celtic fans expected him to replace Fraser Forster with ease – after the 6ft 7in Parkhead favourite returned to parent club Southampton.
However, the Greece international has struggled. Instead, he has been dropped on two occasions – with firstly Scott Bain replacing him, and then Northern Ireland stopper Conor Hazard coming in, the latter of whom played in the Scottish Cup final.
Seemingly, Bain is not considered good enough to get more than a handful of games at a time, Hazard is a decent young goalkeeper but again not the answer. For Barkas, it is get back up to speed – or lose your place.
With Celtic’s hopes of 10 in a row hanging by a thread, they need to replace Barkas to stand any chance of achieving the record. Arsenal may have just handed them that chance, by reportedly placing Iceland international Alex Runarsson on the loan list.
Runarsson, 25, has been forced to play back-up goalkeeper to Bernd Leno since swapping Dijon in France for North London. He has been afforded just five appearances for the Gunners, after coming in for Emi Martinez who joined Aston Villa.
that they are willing to let Runarsson go on loan if they can bring in a replacement. Championship and European clubs are believed to be looking at Runarsson, who earns £40,000 a week at The Emirates ().
Good with his feet, an excellent shot stopper and only going to get better with game time, Runarsson would certainly improve what Celtic have got between the sticks – if the Hoops could orchestrate a deal in which they pay only a portion of his wages.
Arsenal are keen to get on with their January business having already loaned out Sead Kolasinac and William Saliba to Schalke and Nice respectively. Celtic should look to convince the Gunners in to making that three, with Runarsson.
