Vasilios Barkas will be demonstrated at Parkhead on Thursday after Celtic caught the Greek goalkeeper with a £ 5.5m blockbuster deal.
But hopes of adding Peterborough killer Ivan Toney suffered another setback after posh owner Darragh MacAnthony warned the hoops with a low ball bid not to take Mickey.
Celts remain on the hunt for the striker, but the bumper for AEK Athens shotstop Barkas on the eve of the premiership season ends the uncertainty between sticks after Fraser Forster’s return to Southampton and Craig Gordon’s departure.
The 26-year-old Greek international went to Glasgow on Wednesday for medical treatment after chief Neil Lennon gave him the tour of Celtic’s Lennoxtown training base.
Record sports Barkas is expected to put a three-year, one-year, £ 4.5m option on Thursday morning on paper, which could rise to £ 5.5m, shattering AEK Athens’ transfer record and Scottish football history becomes the most expensive goalkeeper.
The Dutch-born goalkeeper will be announced today and is expected to be in the squad against Hamilton Accies on Sunday.
Lennon hopes to have more new faces on board for the big push, but faces a fight to land the top strike targets IToney and Albian Ajeti.
West Ham’s attacker Ajeti is considering a loan move to Celts to sign a permanent contract next summer.
But the Swiss ace remains on the table with several other options – with West Brom also in the race for the £ 8 million former Basel poacher.
Peterborough frontman Toney is believed to be very keen to move on to the champions, but his club bosses have told the hoops that they will be playing no less than £ 10m after making an initial offer of £ 4m plus benefits have thrown back.
MacAnthony told the Hard Truth podcast: “We have a player that everyone in the country wants. I don’t know where he’s going, but he’ll probably become a multi-millionaire over time.
“We have big clubs in the Premier League and the championship after him and we also have a number of aspiring clubs in the mix.
“Some of the numbers that I read in the press are insulting.
“I would ask that nobody try to take the Mickey away from us. You need to know who you’re dealing with. This is not my first rodeo. I know how to work.
“We have a fee in mind for Ivan and if a club reaches that number you can speak to him.
“And I won’t refuse a deal. If someone offered more than one fee that I had already agreed with another club, I would accept this offer, but let the player decide where to go.
“We agreed a fee for a player a few years ago, but the selling club withdrew from the business because it received a larger offer from another club. This is wrong and I would never get out of such a business.
“It is difficult to get the desired fee if only one club is interested, but it becomes much easier if there are several clubs after it.
“Good strikers are like dinosaurs. They are in danger of extinction. “
Celtic was also linked to a move for Atletico Madrid playmaker Rodrigo Riquelme Record sports understands that the tires are not in the race to land the 20-year-old.
Club sources rejected reports in Spain that Celts knocked on the door for the highly rated child.
.
