Balde, Boerrigter or Bangura? Who are the 20 worst Celtic signings from the Peter Lawwell era at Parkhead?

Last month’s incomings and outgoings were typical of his lengthy spell at the helm of the Parkhead club – the sale of Jeremie Frimpong to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5m made a substantial profit.

The disastrous campaign that Neil Lennon’s team has made him an unpopular figure with the Celtic supporters and the warm-weather training break to Dubai last month saw him subjected to savage criticism from the public and politcians.

Lawwell has certainly overseen some poor acquisitions during his time in the East End of Glasgow – Amido Balde, Mo Bangura, Derk Boerrigter, Efrain Juarez, Stefan Scepovic didn’t really work out.

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However, the quadruple treble winners have got more right than wrong on his watch - Moussa Dembele, Fraser Forster, Ki Sung-Yueng, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk were all superb and made them fortunes.

Herald and Times Sport has taken a look at all of the transfer activity Celtic have conducted since Lawwell came on board and compiled lists of the best and the worst of the signings. Here are the worst.

20 – Mo Camara, free transfer from Burnley in 2005.

The Guinean internationalist was Gordon Strachan’s first signing as Celtic manager and one of the worst.

The full-back had previously played for Lille, Le Havre, Wolves and Burnley. But fears about his ability were aroused on his debut – a 5-0 drubbing by Artmedia Bratislava of Slovakia in a Champions League qualifier in July.

READ MORE: How Peter Lawwell averted a financial crisis at Parkhead - and banked Celtic £170 MILLION in the transfer market

He would go on to play in 2-0 and 3-0 wins over Rangers in November. But he fell out of the team soon after and was allowed to join Derby County on a free transfer the following year.

19 – Milan Misun, £500,000 from FK Pribram in 2009.

Celtic apparently fought off AC Milan and Copenhagen to sign the Czech Republic Under-19 defender from FK Pribram for £500,000 in December 2009.

He was an unused substitute in a game against Aberdeen the following month. But after that he went Misun in action.

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He joined Dundee on loan the following season and played two games for the Dens Park club. He moved on to Viktoria Plzen in his homeland in 2012 after failing to make a single appearance for the Parkhead club. 

18 – Shane Duffy, £2m (loan) from Brighton in 2020.

The arrival of the Republic of Ireland internationalist from Premier League club Brighton earlier this season was considered to be a huge moment for 10-In-A-Row-chasing Celtic.

His time in Glasgow started well with goals in his first two games against Ross County and St Mirren. After that? The defender has struggled as the team has toiled at home and abroad. He is currently warming the bench.

17 – Thomas Gravesen, £2m from Real Madrid in 2006.

The Danish internationalist scored twice against Rangers during his time at Parkhead. But those strikes were rare highlights. He picked up a league winner’s medal at the end of his debut campaign too. However, he failed to reproduce the form that had made him a cult hero at Everton and convinced Real Madrid to move for him. 

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A free spirit on and off the park, he was unable to fit in to a system or follow his manager’s instructions. Gordon Strachan eventually grew exasperated and dropped the midfielder. He was allowed to return to Goodison Park the following year. He was released from his contract in 2008 and didn’t play again.

Stories about the eccentric Scandinavian’s exploits off the park in Glasgow are now legend.

16 - Jiri Jarosik, £2m from Chelsea in 2006.

The Czech Republic internationalist had his moments at Parkhead. He helped Celtic to beat AC Milan and Manchester United in the Champions League and also scored in a triumph over Shakhtar Donetsk.

But the midfielder failed to settle in Glasgow, show consistent form or live up to the high expectations supporters had of him. He joined Russian club Samara for €1m after just a season-and-a-half.

15 – Jack Hendry, £1.5m from Dundee in 2018.

Brendan Rodgers was so impressed with Dundee centre half Jack Hendry when Celtic played the Dens Park club he implored the Parkhead directors to move for him in the January of 2018 and was delighted when he secured his services.

"I think his potential is huge," he said. "That's what I said to the board when I first saw him play. I said: 'This is a player I think can be a big player'.”

Rodgers helped make many of his charges better during his time in Glasgow. But Hendry wasn’t one of them. He was unable to establish himself and went out on loan to Melbourne City in Australia and then KV Oostende in Belgium. At 25, time is still on his side.

14 - Nadir Ciftci, £1.5m from Dundee United in 2015.

The Turkish forward was brought to Celtic from United to provide back-up to Leigh Griffiths up front. He took the No7 shirt that had previously been worn by Jimmy Johnstone and Henrik Larsson. But he failed to perform at the level his illustrious predecessors did.

After scoring just four times in the first half of the season he was loaned out to Eskisehirspor in his homeland. Stints at Pogo Szczecin, Plymouth Argyle and Motherwell followed before he finally departed for Genclerbirligi in 2018. He is currently a player with Samsunspor.

Emilio Izaguirre once requred hospital treatment after Ciftci took exception to a tackle in training. But the striker failed to make his mark otherwise. 

13 - Marian Shved - £1.7m from Karpaty Lviv in 2019.

When Brendan Rodgers revealed that he had never heard of the Ukranian winger when he was first linked with Celtic it did not augur well for the player in Glasgow. “We've got about a million wingers and don't need another one,” said Rodgers.

He scored a last minute goal against Nomme Kalju in a Champions League qualifier at the start of last season. But he only made two substitute appearances thereafter and was loaned out to former club Karpaty Lviv and Mechelen.

He is under contract at Celtic until 2023 so he could come good yet.

12 – Du Wei, loan from Shanghai Shenua in 2005.

The late, great Diego Maradona may have been one of the world’s best footballers. But as a judge of a player he was perhaps wanting. After seeing Du Wei play for China against Argentina in an under-20 match in 2001 he said: “He has the perfect sense of how defending should be played.”

The centre half joined Celtic on a six month loan from Shanghai Shenua in 2006 after captaining his national under-23 and Olympic teams. But he only made one ill-fated appearance. He started the infamous Scottish Cup defeat to Clyde and was substituted at half-time with his team trailing 2-0. He returned to his parent club that summer without making another appearance.

11 – Vakoun Issouf Bayo, £2m from Dunajska Streda in 2019.

At just 24, the Ivorian striker could well show why Celtic paid Dunajska Streda a cool £2m for him two years ago in future. But it may not be at Parkhead. He is currently on loan at Toulouse and the French club have an option to buy him in the summer.

The 6ft forward only managed to find the target twice last season, in cup games against lower league Partick Thistle and Clyde, and appears surplus to requirements in the East End.

10 - Henri Camara, £1.5m (loan) from Wolves in 2004.

Replacing Henrik Larsson in the Celtic first team was always going to be a tall order if not an impossible task. But Henri Camara, who was brought in by Martin O’Neill to do so, was ill-equipped to replace the King of Kings. The Sengalese forward certainly had pace. But he struggled with the physicality and harem scarem nature of the game in Scotland. He moved on to Southampton after just six months having been on target only eight times.

9 - Teemu Pukki, £2.4m from FC Schalke 04 in 2013.

The Finnsh forward has become a cult hero at Norwich City in the last few seasons. His goals helped the Carrow Road club win promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and he performed well for them in the English top flight even though they ended up being relegated.

There were high hopes he could make the same sort of impact at Celtic when he joined from Bundesliga club Schalke 04 in 2013. Gary Hooper had just left for, ironically enough, Norwich. But Kris Commons and Anthony Stokes filled the void he created. 

The Nordic player proved to be an introverted individual who struggled to settle in Glasgow. He managed to net just seven goals in 33 appearances. He was clearly a talent. But he didn’t show it on enough occasions. He moved on to Brondby on loan after a year and joined the Danish club in a £500,000 deal in 2016.

8 - Marc Antoine-Fortune, £3.8m from AS Nancy in 2009.

The spectacular long-range winner that the French forward scored against Motherwell at Fir Park in December showed what he was capable of at his best. He also scored the winner in a meaningless Old Firm game at Parkhead.

He was, though, unable to produce such heroics on a regular basis. He struggled with injuries during his time in Glasgow. His form fluctuated wildly as a result. His sizeable price tag didn’t help his cause either.

Tony Mowbray, who had managed him at West Brom, was replaced by Neil Lennon in March. Fortune returned to the Hawthorns at the start of the following season. He had netted 12 times in 39 appearances. It was a poor return for such a substantial outlay. He had cost a Fortune. 

7 - Boli Bolingoli - £3m from Rapid Wien in 2019.

Replacing Kieran Tierney at left back was always going to require Celtic to spend a significant sum of money and they certainly did that when they brought in Boli Bolingoli from Rapid Vienna in 2019.

But the Belgian’s early displays did little to suggest he was the man to fill Tierney’s boots. He was physical and impressive going forward. But defensively he was not quite so good. Greg Taylor started to be used by Neil Lennon increasingly in the second half of the season.

Bolingoli had a lot of prove this season. But when he broke strict Covid-19 protocols by not entering quarantine on his return from a flying visit to Spain – a trip he had failed to inform the club about – and then playng against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park he was disciplined and farmed out to Istanbul Basaksehir on loan.

He has played in the Champions League in Turkey this term, but it remains doubtful he has a future with the quadruple treble winners.

6 - Amido Balde, £1.8m from Vitoria Guimaraes in 2013.

At 6ft 4in, Guinea-Bassau internationalist was certainly an impressive physical specimen. Alas, he wasn’t much of a footballer. It had been hoped that he could cause opposition defences problems with his height and strength, create chances for his team mates as well as score regularly himself. But he failed to do so.

He netted against Kilmarnock twice and pitched in with the winner against Partick Thistle. But it soon became clear he wasn’t of the required standard. He joined Waasland-Beveren in Belgium on loan in 2014 and then had his contract terminated two years early in 2015. He is currently playing for Ho Chi Minh City FC in Vietnam. 

5 - Mohamed Bangura, £2.2m from AIK in 2011.

Henrik Larsson did little, if anything, wrong during his seven seasons at Celtic. But he did recommend that the Parkhead club sign Mo Bangura from AIK in his native Sweden after he had departed. It didn’t quite work out.

The Sierre Leonean started badly and continued in that vein. He was unable to win a regular first team place ahead of Gary Hooper, Anthony Stokes and Georgios Samaras. He suffered a serious injury, was loaned back to AIK when he regained full fitness and then joined Elfsborg in a temporary deal.

Somewhat bizarrely, he played for them against his parent club in two Champions League qualifiers in 2013. But he didn’t score in them either. He was released in January 2014 despite having 18 months of his contract remaining after failing to net in 16 appearances.

Now 31, he is still playing for Akrolpolis IF in the second tier of the Swedish game.

4 - Stefan Scepovic, £2.3m from Sporting de Gijon in 2014.

The Serbian was the son of the former Partizan Belgrade striker Slađan Šćepović – who had scored the decisive goal in the famous European Cup Winners’ Cup first round defeat that Celtic suffered in 1989.   

He netted with two minutes of the second leg at Parkhead remaining to make it 6-6 on aggregate and send Partizan through on away goals.

Stefan, who joined the day after turning down the chance to sign in a bizarre transfer saga, would bring just as much heartache to the Glasgow club as his old man.

He had been a prolific scorer for Sporting de Gijon in Spain before joining. But his touch deserted him in this country. He was tall and athletic. But his work rate was questionable. At times he looked plain disinterested.

Scepovic had his moments. He scored twice in a 5-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle as Celtic wrapped up their fourth consecutive Scottish title win in 2015.

But he was loaned out to Getafe the following season and joined them permanently the next year after netting just six goals in 28 matches.

3 - Eboue Kouassi, £2.8m from Krasnodar in 2017.

Brendan Rodgers had a few noteworthy successes in the transfer market during his trophy-laden spell at Celtic; Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard and Scott Sinclair proved their worth.

But he got a fair few wrong too. The Ivorian was believed to be the sort of hard-working and combative midfielder who could, in time, take over from Scott Brown in the central midfield berth. “On the pitch I am a lion,” he said. He rarely, though, showed what scouts had seen in him.

He started in the 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League knockout rounds in 2018. But he also played in the first-half in the rematch in Russia that his team lost 3-0. He hardly featured after that.

He was substituted after Hearts player Steve MacLean grabbed his genitals in the Betfred Cup semi-final at Murrayfield the following season. It was to prove his final appearance.

He was loaned out to Genk last season and joined the Belgian club permanently in the summer. He has been a regular starter for them in recent months. Still just 23, he will perhaps blossom in the years to come.

2 – Efrain Juarez, £3m from UNAM Pumas in 2010.

After some impressive early displays, the Celtic support came up with a song in honour of the Mexican midfielder. Here was, they thought, the sort of skilful midfielder who can unlock a defence and score goals. He netted in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers against Braga and Utrecht.

But Neil Lennon’s team lost both of those double headers heavily and Juarez lost his way. He didn’t find the target again and was unable to hold down a first team place.

The first Mexican ever to play in the SPL joined Real Zaragoza in Spain on loan in 2011 and then left for Club American in his homeland in 2012.

He is currently the assistant manager at MLS franchise New York City FC.

1 - Derk Boerrigter, £3m from Ajax in 2013.

When Ajax fans dubbed the Dutch midfielder “Sicknote” due to the frequent spells that he spent on the treatment table it should have been a warning to any clubs interested in signing him.

But Celtic parted with £3m for the winger in 2013. He made his debut against Ross County – and promptly hobbled off injured. He was in and out of the side due to knocks thereafter.

He helped Neil Lennon’s side to retain the Scottish title in his debut season. But he scored just once in a win over Aberdeen. He was unable to fit into the Northern Irishman’s system. He only played three times the next term before injury ended his career. He was quietly released from his four year contract in 2016.

He later blamed the Celtic medical staff for misdiagnosing and mistreating the ankle problem that forced him to hang up his boots.  He cost Celtic £9,180 for each one of the 512 minutes he played in the league.