Lamine Camara Focuses on Monaco After Chelsea Move Collapse

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

The 22-year-old midfielder had gone as far as completing a medical ahead of a proposed £47.1m transfer to Stamford Bridge, only for the deal to fall apart in the final hours of the window.

Two earlier Chelsea bids had already been knocked back. As the deadline loomed and the market grew increasingly frantic, Monaco softened their stance and lowered the asking price for Camara, with the club under pressure to make at least one major sale.

The late drama did not end there. Folarin Balogun’s move to Everton briefly looked in serious doubt, pushing Monaco towards the option of cashing in on Camara instead. When Balogun’s transfer appeared to be back on, the Ligue 1 side seemed ready to keep their Senegal international after all.

In the end, the twist was brutal for all parties chasing a move. Both Camara and Balogun stayed put.

“There was a possibility I could leave,” Camara said, speaking before Monaco’s game against 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.”

Sources in France had suggested all summer that Monaco needed at least one significant outgoing. Inside the club, the preference was to move on Balogun, while a figure close to Monaco had previously stressed it would take a “substantial fee” to prise Camara away.

On the pitch, the noise has not derailed them. Monaco have opened the Ligue 1 season with three straight wins and went into the weekend second behind Rennes, with a game in hand.

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

For now, the Premier League door has closed. The challenge for Camara is simple: play so well that it swings wide open again.