Liverpool Targeting Lamine Camara and Ismaila Sarr as Deadline Approaches

Liverpool’s quiet summer might be about to catch fire in its final days, with Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara emerging as a late-window option – and talk growing that he could be joined at Anfield by Senegal teammate Ismaila Sarr.

The club have already moved in the market, but not with the volume many expected. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have arrived on permanent deals, while Ronald Araujo has come in from Barcelona on a season-long loan. A deal is now in place for PSG winger Bradley Barcola after a long pursuit, yet Andoni Iraola still wants more before the window closes on September 1.

Press Conference Insights

In his pre-Nottingham Forest press conference, the Liverpool boss made it clear the club are trying to push deals over the line, especially out wide.

“The word is ‘ideally’, ideally is the magic word,” Iraola said when asked if there were other areas he would like to strengthen. “In the end, there are certain things that you can do, certain things that we don’t know if we can do. But it’s true that the priority has been to strengthen in the wide areas. Still, we have four, five days, I’m sure if we can improve other areas, we will.”

Barcola is one of the headline targets in those positions, with Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr the other long-running name on the list. Now a new opportunity has landed on Liverpool’s desk.

Transfer reporter Ben Jacobs says Monaco’s Lamine Camara has been offered to both Liverpool and Chelsea as a late-window option. He reported on X that “Monaco’s Lamine Camara has been offered to Chelsea and Liverpool as a late window opportunity. Crystal Palace had a bid turned down earlier this month.”

Liverpool’s need in central midfield has sharpened after the sale of Curtis Jones to Inter Milan. The club are keen to accelerate the development of highly rated youngster Trey Nyoni, but the departure of a senior homegrown midfielder has left a gap that could yet be filled from outside.

Camara Situation

The Camara situation is being driven by Monaco’s own business. Italian journalist Luca Bendoni revealed that the Ligue 1 side have reached an agreement in principle with Cruz Azul for midfielder Erik Lira, a deal worth around €10m including add-ons. That move depends on Monaco completing the sale of a non-EU player, and Camara is one of the candidates to make way.

Bendoni posted on X: “AS Monaco has reached an agreement in principle with Cruz Azul for midfielder Erik Lira. Total package around €10m including add-ons. Deal now depending on AS Monaco completing the sale of a non-EU player.”

As that domino threatens to fall, another angle has opened up from Senegal. Journalist La Loumance has suggested Camara may not be the only Senegal international heading to Merseyside before the deadline.

“Not the only Senegalese who could sign with Liverpool,” he wrote on X, hinting again at Sarr.

That line dropped just after The Independent’s Miguel Delaney reported that Liverpool are “still pursuing” a deal for the Palace forward, even with new Selhurst Park manager Pierre Sage publicly insisting Sarr is not for sale.

The numbers around Sarr have been messy. One report claimed Liverpool had a bid of around £50m rejected, but TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey has since been told that no formal offer has actually gone in. Liverpool have made an enquiry, yet it is Sarr’s camp who are understood to have pushed his name towards Anfield, hoping to turn that interest into a concrete bid.

So the picture is clear enough: Liverpool’s recruitment team are being offered opportunities as the clock ticks down, rather than simply driving every negotiation themselves. Camara has been put on the table. Sarr’s representatives are knocking on the door. Monaco are ready to move once they cash in on a non-EU player. Palace are standing firm in public.

What isn’t in doubt is Liverpool’s intent to be active right up to the deadline. With Iraola openly talking about wide reinforcements and a late midfield move expected to centre on a player he knows well, the final days of this window at Anfield look set to be anything but quiet.