HIS departure from Glasgow barely merited mention, yet his return has caused great consternation.
As Mo Bangura trained with his IF Elfsborg team-mates at Celtic Park last night it emerged that, as late as Monday evening, the Parkhead club were still attempting to dissuade their Swedish opponents from fielding the on-loan striker in this evening's Champions League qualifier.
Johansson, the CEO of banking giant, Swedbank, insists that he is standing his ground because his club had made an "investment" in the 24-year-old Sierre Leone forward. "Celtic just wanted to hear, again, about how we see the situation – but he [Lawwell] also wrote that they would rather that Bangura should not play," explained Johansson.
"I said that it is clear: Mohamed plays. I said we have made a financial investment in Bangura to take us to the Champions League group stage and that he is our player in 2013. They know we have rules on our side. This email was more about their president wanted to hear about. He wondered if the situation remains unchanged."
Certainly Bangura did not appear woebegone as he larked about in the east end last night, the "mind game" which coach Jorgen Lennartsson has accused Celtic of using clearly having scant effect."I don't pay attention to the mind games, they do what they think is best for them and we do what we think is best for us," Lennartsson said. "His work this year is to play football in Elfsborg. We don't change our way of working or our way of trying to get to Champions League because of what Celtic do.
"We have the full right to use him. This year we have taken care of him, he has played with us, trained with us, we pay his salary, so we have a responsibility for him this year. I have spoken with Mo and I cannot say that he hasn't been affected but Mo is a quite cool man. He is not a carpenter, a bus driver, a taxi driver or working in a hospital; he plays football and for the moment he plays for Elfsborg. We have an important game and we can't see a problem in the contract for using him. I don't have any problems with Celtic saying that they don't want him to play, that is normal, but we do the best things for Elfsborg."
The Swedes rely on him, having paid a fee to sign him for 12 months, and he has scored five times in 17 games. His time at Celtic was less productive, since he only managed feature in 12 domestic games, and never registered a goal. There is likely to be a hostile reception but it may be the only impact he makes.
"I don't think [Celtic need to worry about Bangura]," said Andy Walker, the former Celtic striker. "There are others ahead of him in the queue [at Celtic]. If you are Mo Bangura, you want to score, play well and attract a bit of interest. But Celtic on the big occasion have shown they can handle it. I can understand Neil [Lennon] when he talks about encouraging him not to play. By all means try to weaken your opponent. But Celtic have enough experience in the locker to handle Elfsborg. I would be very surprised if there were any slip-ups over two legs against Elfsborg."
The issue is a distraction. Bangura might be motivated by the chance to prove his worth, but Celtic's players know well enough the extent of his ability. It is the wider context that is more significant, since the finance and prestige delivered by being in the group stages is substantial. Even Scottish football itself benefits.
"We all talk about the credibility of the SPFL," said Walker. "Celtic gave that a real shot in the arm last year. They have players who know what it takes to win games in Europe. I'm optimistic they can do it."
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