Born in Senegal to Guinean parents, Henri Camara elected to play – 99 times, it would turn out – for Senegal. He was part of their side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup finals, scoring twice v Sweden to help take them to that stage. He had been playing in Europe for five years when his fourth European club, Sedan, were relegated in 2003. Joining Wolves, newly-promoted to the Premier League, he found his scoring touch in the run-in, too late to avoid another relegation. When Camara refused to play at a lower level, Wolves had no choice but to loan him out. After a disappointing spell at Celtic, he arrived at St Mary’s on the last day of the January 2005 transfer window. Described by manager Harry Redknapp as a

“feisty, quality signing with finishing power,”

Henri lived up to that label with four goals in his first three games, the first of them after coming on as a substitute at St Andrew’s. At his most dangerous, and thrilling when running the ball at and through opponents, his Achilles heel was a tendency to forget he had team-mates. As the relegation clouds darkened, he was not always selected, but he provided a few precious moments of sunshine, not least with his late, beautifully conceived, winner against Norwich City in the penultimate home game.

For the third successive season, though, Camara experienced relegation. He regained Premiership status with a move to just-promoted Wigan, where he stayed longer than anywhere before, although that included two more loan spells. In 2009, he moved to Sheffield United, settling at last for a second-tier season. Since then his career was confined entirely in Greece where he played for various clubs in various divisions. He retired aged 41 in August 2018.