Liverpool Eye Lamine Camara and Tyrick Mitchell for January Transfers

Liverpool are weighing up a January move for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, with insiders describing a transfer as a “real possibility” as the window begins to take shape.

The 22-year-old was on the brink of joining Chelsea on deadline day. He had lengthy talks with the London club about his role, agreed to the switch and was ready to head to Stamford Bridge before Monaco abruptly pulled the plug in the final hours. The deal collapsed, but the story clearly hasn’t ended there.

Chelsea’s interest has not gone away. They are expected to return to the table in January. This time, though, Liverpool are in the frame and the price has climbed. Any club now moving for Camara is likely to have to pay closer to €70m (£60m, $81m), up from the €55m (£47m, $63m) package Chelsea thought they had tied up in the summer.

According to Football Insider, Liverpool have already “held talks” over a potential transfer and are actively exploring the deal.

“Lamine Camara is a name that has been discussed behind the scenes,” Mick Brown told Football Insider. He added that Liverpool will be monitoring his performances for Monaco, but believes the groundwork for a move is clearly there after the Chelsea saga.

“His agent has been very outspoken about trying to get him a move, so I expect Liverpool will have held talks with him about the possibility of signing him in January.”

If Camara becomes the headline midfield target, Liverpool could still be busy at the back as well.

Mitchell in the frame as left-back market tightens

While the focus at Anfield is on reinforcing midfield, the left-back market is also starting to move, with Liverpool tipped to rival Manchester United for Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell.

Andoni Iraola is understood to be keen to upgrade his options on the left side of defence. Milos Kerkez has yet to fully convince, and Kostas Tsimikas’ situation is uncertain, with his contract up at the end of the season and his role still very much on the fringes.

Mitchell, a model of consistency for Palace and already on United’s radar, has emerged as a serious option. In a separate update to Football Insider, Brown underlined just how competitive the chase could become.

“Man United aren’t going to be the only club interested in signing Mitchell,” he said. For any Premier League side hunting a left-back, Brown argued, there are few as reliable as the Palace defender.

“He impresses every single week, gets on with his job, he’s terrific defensively and he’s improved the attacking side of his game as well, he’s a top, top player.”

That profile naturally drags the biggest clubs into the conversation.

“So when you look at those top clubs, you’ve got Liverpool where Milos Kerkez has been questioned a bit and maybe isn’t as consistent as they’d like him to be,” Brown noted.

“Then you’ve got Chelsea, who are always going to be interested in this type of deal where they can bring a quality player in without having to spend big.

“Either of those clubs could make a move for Mitchell, because as I say, he will tick a number of boxes for them and could be a very good addition.”

Two positions, two major targets, and rivals circling the same names. Liverpool’s January window is already being drawn up in bold lines.