Celtic splashed the cash to land Barkas from AEK Athens in the summer, but he has struggled to impress in Scotland and lost his spot in the team.
Lennon though played Barkas against Dundee United on Wednesday night, dropping Connor Hazard to the bench, and then confirmed that the Greek shot-stopper will play in the Glasgow derby at Ibrox.
Former Rangers midfielder Halliday admits he is not surprised that Lennon has backed Barkas to play at Ibrox, but does feel it is a big call on the part of the Celtic boss.
“I think Neil Lennon summed it up well after the game when he said he’s brought Barkas into the football club to be number 1”, Halliday said on Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard.
“Ultimately he’s not showed up his best form for that period of time, but sometimes as a player, managers do take you back out to bring you back in and hope you can clear your mind and get a fresh start.
“I am not surprised, but I do think it’s a big call.”
Celtic head into the derby with Rangers badly needing to take all three points to cut the gap to their fierce rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
