Derby County enjoyed a great start to the 2015–16 season and showed no indications of being affected by the sad conclusion of the previous year.
In order to create a club that could contend at the top of the Championship once more, Paul Clement, who had taken over as manager at Pride Park in the summer, made significant changes to the playing roster, adding players like Bradley Johnson, Jacob Butterfield, and Scott Carson.
They finished 2015 in the top two, proving that his strategies had worked at the beginning of the season. The Rams had the opportunity to improve on their stellar first half of the season during the January transfer window, and Abdoul Camara was brought in
in to assist in leading the team to Premier League promotion.
But even though Derby reportedly paid £1.25 million for the winger, he had a hard time adjusting to life in England, and the excitement surrounding him soon died down.
Camara found the step-up to the Championship hard
Before joining the Rams, Camara had made 44 league appearances for the French team Angers SCO, scoring eight goals. This created a fair amount of anticipation that he would be a great acquisition for Clement and his scouts.
Derby needed a quick and talented winger like him to stay ahead of their competitors, but it quickly became clear that the 25-year-old could not deliver on his promises.
After initially joining the team, he battled with his conditioning and only made four Championship appearances in the 2015–16 campaign. The former Guinea international came off the bench for a brief appearance in the second leg against Hull City as his club lost 3-2 on aggregate. He made his way onto the bench four more times before his teammates guaranteed their spot in the play-offs.
After Clement was fired in February 2016, Darren Wassall took over as manager and ran the campaign on an interim basis. Camara failed to demonstrate his abilities to his new boss.
Camara’s second season was just as poor
With a full preseason, many thought the winger would be able to showcase his entire range of skills for the first time in Derby’s black and white, but injuries struck again.
Following his recovery from a muscle injury, he made a comeback against Preston North End under Nigel Pearson’s tutelage. However, he was removed from the matchday squad after just three games due to another issue.
By the time Camara returned to action in December 2016, Steve McClaren had taken over as manager of the Rams, and he recorded his first and only Championship assist against QPR.
After a rough start under Pearson’s leadership, he began to establish himself as a regular and even made three starts as the Rams got closer to the playoff spots.
The East Midlands team was also making progress in the FA Cup, and Camara scored what ended up being his sole goal for Derby in this competition. The match went to a replay at the King Power Stadium after his team held Leicester City to a 2-2 draw at Pride Park in the competition’s fourth round.
The Foxes appeared to be going to the next round after taking the lead just after halftime, but Camara gave his team a goal with a deflected free kick into the net lifeline. The 26-year-old could have continued from that moment, but the Rams lost in extra time.
However, he only made one appearance in Derby’s last ten games as they finished outside the playoffs due to ongoing injuries. After McClaren was fired, the club hired Gary Rowett as manager in March 2017, which turned out to be the beginning of Camara’s demise.
Prior to the 2017–18 campaign, his contract was mutually ended, and a transfer that had held great promise turned out to be a waste of £1.25 million.
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