Liverpool’s Late Lifeline: Camara’s Potential Move After Chelsea Collapse

Liverpool’s quiet summer may yet have a sting in the tail. Deadline Day ended without the defensive midfielder they’ve been crying out for, but the chaos around Lamine Camara’s failed move to Chelsea has cracked open a door the club thought was shut.

A Window That Never Really Opened

This was supposed to be a reset summer at Anfield. Instead, it felt like an exodus.

Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté all walked away on free transfers. Curtis Jones left for Inter Milan, Harvey Elliott for Valencia. Senior figures, gone without a fee to reinvest.

Liverpool did spend. Big. Bradley Barcola arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in a £123m deal as the headline signing, with Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo also added to Andoni Iraola’s squad.

But the glaring issue remained untouched. No specialist defensive midfielder. Again.

Since Fabinho’s departure to Saudi Arabia in 2023, Liverpool have been linked to Moises Caicedo, Martin Zubimendi and a string of holding players. Each time, the rumours swirled, the need was obvious, and still nothing materialised.

Iraola has had to lean on Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, teenager Trey Nyoni and Wataru Endo as his senior midfield core. Not one of them is a natural, elite-level destroyer in front of the back four.

The early weeks of the season have exposed that.

Chelsea Miss Out, Liverpool Move In

Chelsea thought they had their man. An agreement with Monaco was in place for Lamine Camara, the Senegal international widely viewed as one of Europe’s most complete young midfielders. Then, on Deadline Day, the deal collapsed.

That’s when Liverpool stepped out of the shadows.

Speaking on talkSPORT, GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs revealed that Anfield chiefs made late contact with Camara’s camp and with Monaco.

“Liverpool Football Club made a call this evening, and more than one, to say to the camp of Lamine Camara to wait, to say to Monaco to wait, because Liverpool don’t want Camara now, they never explored it,” Jacobs said.

He added that, despite Mac Allister still being at the club, Liverpool’s message was clear: “Liverpool said to Monaco wait, Liverpool said to Camara wait. Liverpool didn’t interfere in the deal relating to Chelsea. We are saying all Liverpool did was tell Monaco and Lamine Camara to wait; if you don’t get your move… we will be back potentially in 2027.”

No hijack. No last-minute bid. Just a warning shot for the future.

For Chelsea, already furious at missing out on Camara on Deadline Day, the prospect of him eventually landing at Anfield will sting even more.

Iraola’s Midfield Problem

The tension around Iraola’s system is already visible. Liverpool’s opening games have laid bare the imbalance in midfield.

They’ve been held to 2-2 draws by both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, matches where control slipped too easily and transitions cut through them. Jamie Carragher has openly criticised the setup, pointing straight at the heart of the pitch.

Iraola wants intensity, pressing, risk. Without a true holding midfielder, it leaves his back line exposed and his creators doing too much firefighting.

That’s where Camara changes the picture.

Defensively disciplined, aggressive in duels, and able to cover vast swathes of ground, he offers the profile Liverpool have been missing since Fabinho’s peak years. Not a luxury addition. A structural one.

One of the Best – and Still Available

Monaco boss Filipe Luis didn’t hold back earlier in the summer when asked about Camara’s level.

“We are probably talking about one of the best midfielders in the world,” he said.

“I don't want to talk about him too much, because I know a lot of clubs would love to have him in their squad, and he is very important to me. He has that quality on the ball, covers a lot of ground, he is truly top class! I am really happy to have him, and he is going to play a key role in the team.”

Those aren’t the words of a coach preparing to sell. They are the words of a man who knows exactly what he has – and exactly what others want.

Yet Liverpool now sit in a privileged position. They didn’t burn bridges with Monaco by trying to crash Chelsea’s deal. They simply asked both club and player to keep the door ajar, with an eye on 2027.

For a team that has repeatedly dodged the decisive move for a defensive midfielder, this feels like a line in the sand.

Will Liverpool finally act on a problem everyone can see – or watch another era drift by without the anchor their midfield so clearly needs?