It doesn't take long for Celtic fans to fall in love with new signings.
But the writing was on the wall for Mohamed Bangura almost from the day he step foot inside Parkhead. No sooner had the striker posed with the green-and-white scarf above his head had he signalled his intention to LEAVE the club. Neil Lennon forked out £2million to land the Sierra Leone international from AIK Stockholm in 2011 after he was recommended by Henrik Larsson.
Now, if anyone knows how to put the ball in the back of the net it's the King of Kings. But it's fair to say the Super Swede's advice turned out to be spectacularly wrong. Anyway, that's where the comparisons with Larsson end - although his agent did Bangura no favours by tipping him to follow in the footsteps of the iconic Number 7, saying: "Bangura is a very talented, skilful player and I think he will be the next Henrik Larsson at Celtic."
That's one way to grab headlines. As if expectation levels weren't already sky high, Bangura scored a major own goal by bizarrely outlining his one-year exit plan after making it clear he viewed Celts as a stepping stone. Speaking on the day of his unveiling, Bangura declared: "To come to Celtic gives me a good feeling because it’s another step in my career. I have to work to get to the top. I’m talking about the Spanish league, the English league or maybe the Italian league. If I can do my best here with Celtic then I will see what the future holds. If possible, I could make the next step in one year – if everything goes well and the club is willing, why not?"
Embarrassingly for Bangura, it was all talk, no game. The outspoken frontman ended his debut campaign in Glasgow with a grand old total of zero goals in 15 appearances. Unsurprisingly, the summer signing quickly fell out of favour under Neil Lennon with Gary Hooper, Anthony Stokes and Georgios Samaras all ahead of him in the pecking order. It went from bad to worse for the struggling forward too as a knee injury ruled him out of action for the majority of the season.
If this was how Bangura had planned to win a move to an elite league then it backfired spectacularly. Instead, he was farmed back on loan to AIK and then Swedish rivals Elfsborg, where he spent the entirety of 2013. However, fate would have it that Bangura would find himself back at Celtic Park much sooner than he ever expected after Elfsborg were drawn against his parent club in a Champions League qualifier.
His participation had been the hot topic in the build-up to the first leg in the east end of Glasgow and, despite UEFA regulations allowing him to play, Bangura was warned by the Hoops dressing room he'd never be forgiven if he killed the Scottish champions' Euro dreams.
Welsh midfielder Joe Ledley didn't mince his words as he stated at the time: "If I was in the same position as Mo Bangura I probably wouldn’t play out of loyalty and respect to Celtic. He’s contracted to the club – I don’t think it would be the best move for him.
"If he scored the winner and knocked us out of the Champions League then it would be difficult for him to come back. That’s why he must think before he plays. It’s difficult but it’s down to him. You don’t want Mo to play but if he does we won’t blank him. If he’s in the tunnel we’ll shake his hand. But when that whistle goes it’s totally different. All that goes out the window."
Caught in an awkward crossfire, Neil Lennon also urged the player to sit out the multi-million pound two-legged tie. Elfsborg boss Jorgen Lennartsson had the final say, though, and he decided to thrust the player further into the limelight by giving him the nod up front, and his arrival on the pitch was marked with a vicious chorus of boos from the home crowd. Celts edged out 1-0 winners thanks to a Kris Commons header before a goalless draw in Sweden ensured progression into the play-offs.
But there was no way back for Bangura in the eyes of his Celtic teammates or the green-and-white faithful after that fateful night. As if he hadn't already dug a deep enough hole, Bangura made matters even worse for himself when he blasted the attitude of captain Scott Brown towards him after the pair clashed in the tunnel at the interval. A second-half skirmish between the duo ended with players engaging in a shoving match but Bangura claimed all Parkhead stars shook his hand at the end - except Broony who waved him away.
He raged: "I was disappointed. It was no fun playing against him but what can I say? After the game I went to shake his hand and he waved me away. I don’t know why as I don’t have a problem with him. If he thinks things get heated during a game he just has to understand it’s a football pitch. You play your game. I don’t know why he got so angry with me but to me it’s a professional game and at the end you shake hands."
Bangura returned to Lennoxtown with his tail between his legs in January 2014 knowing he would never regain the trust of the dressing room. Despite Neil Lennon insisting there were no hard feelings, his contract was terminated just weeks later and he joined Turkish second-tier side Istanbul BB on a two-year deal. A third spell at AIK followed before he called time on his playing career in 2018 after stints at Dalian Yifang, Dalkurd FF and Akropolis IF.
