Liverpool played a part in the last-minute collapse of Lamine Camara's move to Chelsea, per reports. The Blues verbally agreed a £47million transfer to sign Camara from Monaco on deadline day last night. Camara had been given permission to complete a medical and sign a six-year contract.
Deadline day collapse
Chelsea earlier had a £38.5m bid rejected for the Senegal international, who was their preferred replacement for Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine joined Manchester City in a joint-British-record £125m deal. But Camara's proposed move to Stamford Bridge fell through after Monaco reneged on their agreement after renegotiating a deal to sell striker Folarin Balogun to Everton instead.
Extraordinary reports from talkSPORT claim Liverpool made a phone call to the Ligue 1 club on Tuesday. And they reportedly asked the French outfit to delay the move, before Les Monegasques actually pulled the plug. The Reds did not want to sign Camara on deadline day but made it clear to the player, and Monaco, that they could come back for him in 2027 if he did not join Chelsea.
Future plans
Liverpool sold Curtis Jones but opted against signing a replacement, with Trey Nyoni instead promised more minutes. The academy talent was the subject of a £30m offer from Nottingham Forest in the final days of the window. The bid was immediately rejected.
Yet with Wataru Endo's contract expiring in June 2027 and Alexis Mac Allister's deal up in 2028, Liverpool appear to have earmarked Camara as a future acquisition for Andoni Iraola. The collapse of the player's move to Chelsea has left the Londoners furious. They are deeply unhappy with the behaviour of Monaco which they deem to be unprofessional.
Camara's path
Camara has spent the last two years at Monaco since joining from Metz in 2024. His path before heading to the principality, going from Senegalese club Generation Foot to Metz, is the exact same route Liverpool legend Sadio Mane took. And Camara could become the first man from Senegal since Mane to join the Reds next year. Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf are the only others from Camara's country to play for the Merseyside giants.
Liverpool concluded their summer window with four senior signings. They signed Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona while paying £34.5m to buy winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna. Liverpool also splashed a massive package worth up to £123m to recruit Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday. The Frenchman said: "It's a great pride to be able to play for Liverpool. I'm very happy. It took a long time but I'm really happy today to be able to play for Liverpool and all I want is to be on the pitch and be able to play."
Deals agreed in January for defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Ifeanyi Ndukwe were also made official. While goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans was signed from Genk on deadline day for up to £30m. The teenage giant returns to Belgium on loan for the season.
