Chelsea missed out on AS Monaco's Lamine Camara late on deadline day, with Monaco's sporting director saying the midfielder could have 'even better options soon.' Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso spoke directly to Camara after the transfer collapsed, while the Blues were left short in midfield after Enzo Fernandez headed to Manchester City.
Deadline Day Collapse
After seeing two bids rejected by Monaco, Chelsea made a breakthrough and were closing in on a £47.1million deal for Camara before the plug was pulled at the eleventh hour. Camara was in the middle of his medical at a private clinic when he was abruptly told the move had been scrapped, after Folarin Balogun's transfer to Everton collapsed for a second time.
Problems were first raised during the striker's medical, prompting talks to be paused before later being revived. In the end, Balogun decided against joining Everton, leaving Monaco's plans in tatters.
Monaco's Sporting Director Speaks
Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro admitted Camara had asked to leave, but said he has since spoken to the midfielder and reassured him that a major move will come 'very soon' – adding that he could have 'even better options than he did yesterday,' a pointed remark towards Chelsea.
"Our priority was to keep Lamine in the club, it's going to be his third season, normally the cycle we do we try to protect our solid performers because the performances are strongly connected to the financial situation of the club," Scuro admitted. "Clearly, we were open to discussing a transfer for Balogun, he finished his third season, we were already working to replace him, we were fully ready to do this.
"To talk about Lamine, we have been approached by several clubs during the summer, the message has always been the same that our priority is that he stays, even yesterday morning after the training session, we had a conversation with Lamine directly which was very okay and friendly, where he also showed the desire to stay, that he was happy at the club, adapted to this."
What Happened on Deadline Day
Scuro outlined how both deals collapsed, setting out the extraordinary chain of events in detail. "At this moment at 4pm, Balo was in Liverpool making his medicals. Everything was going pretty well," Scuro added. "At around 7pm we were contacted by Everton raising questions on the medicals of Balo, which for our medical staff, which for the personal medical staff of the player, there was totally no sense.
"The explanations were not enough to justify or to bring concerns of the future of the player. This discussion started between medical departments from here and there. It took forever, about two to three hours, to go deep on the assessment check with other doctors. This is a normal situation when the doctor of the club raises concerns. It's quite normal that clubs will look for other specialists sharing the images and discuss the case."
Scuro continued: "Chelsea was always testing and trying. 'What about Lamine? What about Lamine?' I've been talking to them from the last 10 days. As soon as we got the information, yes, we did came back to Chelsea and told 'okay, we have our deal there'. There is no deal on Lamine because it's also fair to do this. It's also part of the game."
Camara Back in Training
Camara has now rejoined Monaco training and is back working alongside his team-mates. Reports in France say he looked fully focused in training and even received a 'warm embrace' from his team-mates during the warm-up, as Monaco stepped up preparations for their clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool also made contact with the Ligue 1 side and may be tempted to sign him in the future, potentially next summer. Roma midfielder Manu Kone was another target high on Chelsea's wishlist, but the Blues failed to land the Frenchman, who impressed at the World Cup. Chelsea were close to an agreement for Kone, yet Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini was determined to keep hold of him, according to Sky in Italy.
