Former Wolves striker Sami Al-Jaber will be a name that a certain generation of fans will remember.

Not really for the right reasons.

For many Wolves fans, the name might not even register the slightest flicker of recognition.

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After all, he only played five games for the club.

For fans of a certain age though, they will recall what has to go down as one of the oddest transfers in the club’s history.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who?

When Wolves signed Sami Al Jaber from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, he was already a national institution in his homeland and came with a reputation for goals.

So much so that he came armed with two nicknames, the rather apt ‘Blue Wolf’ and the more impressive ‘Alan Shearer of Arabia’.

After a trial at Wolves in 2000, manager Colin Lee decided it was an arrangement worth investigating.

The 27-year-old Saudi Arabian joined Wolves on a five-month loan with a view to a £1.3 million transfer that would see him sign until 2004.

He signed off from Al-Hilal with two goals in his farewell game.

What was said?

Lee said: 'Everything else is sorted out, but we are still waiting for the work permit.

'If it comes through before the weekend, we might decide to include him on Saturday, possibly on the bench. It wouldn't be wise to put him straight in after all the travelling he has been doing.

'But I won't have any hesitation in using him once he's had a couple of training sessions. He did well when he was here on trial, and I'm sure he can handle First Division football.

“Sami has made it clear he wants to play for us.

“We have been very impressed by what we have seen so far. He is very skilful and will be an interesting player to have at the club.”

According to a report in the Daily Star, the Saudi football legend, who had an ill-fated spell with Wolves in 2000, is a candidate who could be put forward to represent the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s interests on Tyneside.

On signing for the club and poised to becoming the first Saudi Arabian to play competitive football in Europe, he was convinced he would not be the last.

The 27-year-old striker believed his arrival at Molineux would pave the way for other players from the Gulf state.

“There are lots of good players in Saudi and they might have the chance to play in Europe now I have done this,' he said.

“For me to be the best player I can be, I have to play in Europe. I've had fans coming to my house because they did not want me to leave, but this will be a good thing for my country.

“I've only been in Wolverhampton for three weeks,' he said.

“But the players and everyone at the club has made me feel so welcome. it's like I've been here for a year.

“People have asked me how I will cope with the English weather, but in Saudi it can be very cold in the winter.”

The initial stumbling block to any potential move would a work permit, not deemed to be a problem in view of his record of 44 goals in 80 internationals - and permission from the Saudi Football Federation.

Wolves also agreed to play two exhibition matches in Riyadh as part of the package.

Investment excitement

There were some rather wonderful rumours going around at the time of Jaber’s arrival at Wolves that a deal was in place for wealthy Arabian oil barons to take over the club with him as the poster boy for an investment in the modern game.

Now, whether that was the case or just a great rumour in the pub before the game, we will never know.

For a while though it was the tittle-tattle that got everyone excited. Suddenly everyone in Gornal was an expect on the family structures of the wealthiest Saudi Arabian families.

This player with the great nicknames was seen by many as the gatekeeper to billions of Saudi riyal.

So what happened?

The deal was problematic to say the least. It took a month for him to receive his international clearance and that only added to the uncertainty of settling into new surroundings and a new country.

He finally made his debut in the September of 200 as a sub in a 1-1 draw at Wimbledon. He was again used in two more league games and then played a full ninety minutes in the League Cup. he later made one more league appearance as a substitute, but they were to be his only appearances.

Al-Jaber’s performances and goals in the reserves hinted that there was a lot more to come from the Blue Wolf. But as mentioned above, it was a problematic situation.

At a time when the catastrophic flop that was Robert Taylor was ploughing a furrow up front, it seemed very odd to the supporters. Taylor, you remember him right? The £1.5m signing from Man City - played nine games, score no goals. In fact he only scored one more goal in the next ten years of his career!

I digress. The point is, Al-Jaber seemed a shoe-in for more starts.

After his last appearance as a sub for the club, it seemed that he was starting to become involved and could work his way into the reckoning, that was when he went away on international duty.

He returned from international duty in the Asian Cup carrying a groin strain and kept him sidelined for a month. It also caused an element of controversy when it was discovered that he had received injections to allow him to continue to play in the tournament.

Wolves were so incensed at the news of the injections that they considered suing the Saudi FA for compensation.

It proved to be the beginning of the end for the ‘Blue Wolf’ and it sparked a bitter war of words between his parent club and Wolves.

The anger

Highly prized in Riyadh, he had become no more than a misfit at Molineux.

Prince Khalid, a key member of the Honorary Executive Board at Al-Jaber's club, Al-Hilal, labeled it an 'insult' that the Saudi Arabia international captain might return to the Middle East without starting a league game for Wolves.

'It has become insulting to Sami,' he said. 'It is in an insult to this club and it is an insult to our country.

'Sami was the first player from our country to be allowed to move abroad, he is our best player, and I put my head on the line to persuade people here to let him go, as we felt it would be for Sami and his country's benefit.

'But now they have seen the way he has been treated, it could stop other players being given their chance.

'For the sake of our two countries having good relations in the future with regard to football, this situation needs sorting now.

'It has put a dent in our whole football system.

Prince Khalid said: 'If he'd gone to the Premier League I'd have said nothing, but Wolves are only a First Division side, they're not doing very well, they play midfielders in attack, and leave Sami on the bench.

'All we ask is that he be given a chance. And, if they don't want him, let him come home.'

In Riyadh, Al-Jaber was s a national hero, used to the idolisation of 30,000-plus crowds each week when he led out both his club and country.

The glimmer of hope

It was Colin Lee that had failed to be convinced that Al-Jaber was the man to lead the Wolves forward line and when he was sacked and replaced by Dave Jones, it seemed that the Saudi Arabian could yet get his chance to prove himself.

Jones asked to have his own time to evaluate the player and wanted the trial extended.

The Saudi club had lost patience though and the striker returned home.

What he said after the Wolves era

Despite almost everyone involved feeling like the whole thing had been a disaster, Al Jaber didn’t see it like that.

He stated: "I learned everything at Wolves and was really happy to have had that time there.

"I learned to play from the heart and how to prepare for a game like a professional.

“I learned how to cope with the physical side of the game.

“I was there for eight months and enjoyed it, I wanted to stay, but my club in Saudi would not release me,” he said.

“But I would like to play in England again, I would love to play in the Premiership, though no-one has been in touch.

“I learned a lot from the English game, I learned how to play with my heart and how to be stronger. That has helped me be a better player.”

What happened next?

His hero status in his homeland rose to epic proportions. Very much like the Tipton terrier Steve Bull, he only played for the one club and became a cult hero.

He scored 173 goals in 380 appearances for Al-Hilal in a career that spanned from 1989-2007.

He also notched up 156 appearances for the Saudi Arabian national team and scored 46 goals. He received nominations for World Footballer Of The Year and signed off his playing career with a testimonial against Manchester United, in which he scored in a 3-2 victory.

His honours include six league titles, sic up wins, two Asian Champions League titles and the top-scorer in Saudi football for two years running.

He appeared in four World Cups and scored in three of them.

Managerial career

He went into coaching at Al Hilal in 2009 and then as the assistant at Auxerre.

This experience led to a fairytale return to manage Al Hilal. With a 70.73% win ratio during a 41 game stint in charge, the decision to replace him in 2014 was a puzzling one, especially given his ranking of 19th in the World Football Coach rankings.

From here he went on to manage Al-Wahda and Al-Shabab before becoming technical manager at Al Arabi.