Lamine Camara Focused on Monaco After Chelsea Move Collapse

Lamine Camara insists he has “turned the page” on a dramatic failed move to Chelsea and is locking in on Monaco’s Ligue 1 campaign.

The 22-year-old midfielder came within touching distance of the Premier League. He completed a medical ahead of a proposed £47.1m transfer to Stamford Bridge, only for the deal to collapse in the final hours before the window shut.

Monaco had already batted away two offers for the Senegal international, holding out for what club figures described as a “substantial fee”. As the deadline loomed, the stance softened. With pressure building and the market swirling, the principality side lowered their asking price during a chaotic final stretch of the window.

The situation grew even more tangled around Folarin Balogun. Monaco were understood in France to need at least one major sale this summer and, internally, the preference was to move on the US forward rather than Camara. When Balogun’s proposed switch to Everton looked in doubt, the door to selling Camara opened wider. When that deal seemed back on track, Monaco appeared to retreat on letting their midfielder go.

In the end, the plot twisted once more. Balogun stayed. Camara stayed. No major exit, no Chelsea move.

“There was a possibility I could leave,” Camara said ahead of Monaco’s clash with Strasbourg on Saturday. “It didn’t go through at the last minute and that’s part of football. I’ve turned the page and am focusing on the season.”

That season has started with purpose. Monaco have won their first three Ligue 1 fixtures and went into the weekend second in the table, just behind Rennes but with a game in hand. The early form has only sharpened Camara’s sense that his immediate future lies in red and white.

“I can help the team a lot,” the Senegal international said. “Football moves fast. Maybe other opportunities will come along. But for now, I’m staying focused on the season with Monaco.”

The Premier League door closed on deadline day. The Ligue 1 title race, for Camara, is wide open.