It’s a headache he probably doesn’t want to have and it’s not one of those “spoiled for choice” selections managers love but a headache nonetheless. Who does Lennon trust the most between the sticks for Sunday’s potential world record Scottish Cup Final? Vasilis Barkas, Scott Bain or Conor Hazard?
There has been a long running debate on whether Barkas, who joined for a club record £4.5m fee for a goalkeeper, has the ability to become Celtic’s No1 goalkeeper. Not deemed as commanding enough and not made a save of any significance during his time so far, is it really fair to judge the Greek international at this moment?
Barkas has come to a new country, new climate, new team mates and a time of a global pandemic, has seemingly found it difficult to settle into his new club, but with seventeen appearances for Celtic so far this season and 18 goals conceded it does not make pretty reading for a Celtic ‘keeper. Granted, we have had defensive issues and not having a settles back line has not helped Barkas cause, but that kind of form has not inspired any confidence in the ‘keeper so far.
Scott Bain, however, has been at Celtic since January 2018 when he signed for the Hoops initially on loan and made a memorable debut against our Glasgow rivals in a 3-2 win at Ibrox. However, this season, Bain has made seven appearances in total, conceding the same number of goals as Barks, albeit 10 in that awful Europa League campaign. Again, Bain suffered from an unsettled defence but there has been question marks over his culpability of some of the goals leaked in that Europa campaign.
Conor Hazard spent last season on loan in the Scottish Championship and surprisingly finds himself in the position of contending for the No1 jersey for the final on Sunday. Hazard has found himself on the verge of a new deal at Celtic after two impressive performances this season against Lille and Kilmarnock and at 22 years old, finds himself on the fringes of the Northern Ireland international squad. At just 22, a new deal makes sense at this moment in time but is it too early to throw the youngster on in a game of such magnitude?