Where are they now? The last seven Celtic players signed by Martin O’Neill
Martin O’Neill has returned to Celtic as their new interim manager, following Brendan Rodgers’ decision to step away from the club.
It’s the first time that O’Neill has had a managerial job since 2019 and the first time he’s returned to Celtic since leaving back in 2005.
“Naturally, I had a super time at Celtic, it was a privilege,” the 73-year-old said upon his return to Celtic Park.
“I can’t emphasise enough, it’s short-term until a permanent manager is appointed. I’ll just keep the seat warm.”
We’ve revisited O’Neill’s last seven signings as Celtic boss and have checked out where all of them are today.
Jacob Lensky
After spending stints in youth academies with Anderlecht, Sparta Prague, Slavia Prague and Blackburn Rovers, Lensky was picked up by Celtic as a teenager in 2004.
He spent a period developing with Celtic’s U20 side, but never made a senior appearance for the club before he left to join Feyenoord.
The midfielder hung up his boots in 2012, aged 24 and has kept a low profile since then.
Henri Camara
Signed on loan from Wolves to fill the void left by Henrik Larsson’s departure, Camara spent six months with Celtic and scored eight goals in 26 appearances.
Celtic paid £1.5million to sign him on loan for the season, but cut the deal short in January as he struggled to live up to expectations.
The Senegalese international played professionally until the age of 41 and retired in 2018 following a short stint with Greek club Fostiras.
Juninho Paulista
“It was a shame it didn’t work for me there, because Celtic is such a great club,” is what Juninho said about his time at Celtic during an interview in 2018.
The Brazilian spent just one season with the club and struggled to break into the starting XI, with the likes of Stiliyan Petrov and Neil Lennon ahead of him in the pecking order.
After leaving Celtic, he returned to Brazil and played for Palmeiras and Flamengo before retiring in 2008, while playing for Sydney.
Since retiring, he’s worked for the Brazilian Football Confederation, but left his role as the coordinator for the Brazilian national team in 2023.
Kjartan Finnbogason
The Icelandic striker spent three years on the books at Celtic as a youngster, but never made a senior appearance.
He enjoyed his most prolific spells playing in Iceland and Denmark and retired in 2023, having scored 177 goals in 454 games at club level.
Since retiring, the 39-year-old has gone into coaching and is currently the assistant manager of Icelandic side Fimleikafelag Hafnarfjarðar.
Teddy Bjarnason
Like Finnbogason, Bjarnason also joined Celtic in 2004 from Icelandic side KR Reykjavik.
The midfielder only made one league appearance for Celtic and was named Man of the Match during his solitary outing.
He eventually left the club in 2008 and has since been moving around Europe, having had stints in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and Greece.
Now aged 38, he’s still playing today for Icelandic side KV Vesturbaejar.
Stephane Henchoz
Henchoz joined from Liverpool in January 2005 on a six-month contract.
The defender made just eight appearances for the club before returning to England where he played for Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers before retiring in 2008.
Since hanging up his boots, Henchoz landed a handful of managerial roles, but now works as a pundit on Swiss television.
Craig Bellamy
The last player signed by O’Neill was Bellamy, who joined on loan from Newcastle.
He only spent half a season with Celtic, but made quite the impression by scoring nine goals in 15 appearances.
After spending the bulk of his career playing in the Premier League, Bellamy retired in 2014 and began his coaching career.
After coaching roles with Cardiff, Anderlecht and Burnley, Bellamy was appointed as head coach of the Wales national team, where he still works today.
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