MARTIN O’NEILL paid Wolves £1.5million in July 2004 to sign striker Henri Camara on a season-long loan.
The Celtic boss was searching for firepower after Hoops legend Henrik Larsson left the club at the end of his contract in the summer before moving onto Spanish giants Barcelona.
Fans clamoured for a replacement for the Swedish superstar and the spotlight fell on the Senegalese international. It was clearly an unfair comparison although Camara arrived with a pledge to the Parkhead fans he would take over the scoring mantle of their departing hero.
DERBY DUEL…Henri Camara in a tussle for possession with Rangers defender Jean-Alain Boumsong in his first Old Firm appearance, a 1-0 win for Celtic at Parkhead in August 2004.
Quick and skilful, the frontman claimed eight goals from 26 appearances – including 12 starts – but failed to convince boss O’Neill who cut his temporary transfer short in January 2005 as he brought in Craig Bellamy on loan from Blackburn Rovers.
Camara returned to the Molineux club before moving again on a short-term contract to Southampton. Wigan bought the frontman for £3million in 2005 before he spent the entire 2007/08 campaign on loan at West Ham.
He moved to Sheffield United in 2009 and switched to Greece the following year.
Camara played for a succession of clubs before calling it a day at the age of 41 after only two games for third-tier side Fostiras in 2018.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
