Chelsea ready to strike for elite Barcelona star as ‘uncertainty’ reigns, amid big Lamine Camara update

Chelsea are reportedly planning to move for a top Barcelona midfielder in 2027, as they hunt a top-level replacement for Enzo Fernandez, amid an update on the club’s continued chase for Monaco star Lamine Camara.

Having lost Fernandez to Manchester City in a joint-British record £125million deal on deadline day, the Blues failed to snap up a replacement after a planned £47.1m swoop for Camara fell through, despite the player completing a medical.

And now a fresh report from Spain claims that Chelsea are primed to act on Barcelona‘s uncertainty over the long-term future of star midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Indeed, Spanish outlet Sport claims that the Blues are ready to take advantage of that situation, for a player who has been at the Camp Nou for seven years after joining from Ajax for €86m in 2019.

Since then, De Jong has made almost 300 appearances for the club’s first team, chalking up 20 goals and 31 assists during and also earning the captain’s armband.

However, last summer he suffered a knee injury during the World Cup and while Barcelona’s medical team wanted to operate, De Jong opted for more conservative treatment.

While his knee is now on the mend and he returned to training on the pitch last Tuesday, it’s not expected that the 29-year-old will be back on the pitch soon.

Indeed, were it not for the knee issue, there is every chance that De Jong could have moved to Manchester City, as per Catalunya Ràdio.

They claimed that City, currently in the midst of an FFP storm, looked at De Jong once they knew Rodri was on his way to Spain, only to ‘ultimately reject his signing’ due to medical reports on the knee issue.

That doesn’t appear to be stopping Chelsea, however, with the report adding that De Jong’s Barca future is in doubt anyway, following the summer arrival of Rodri, the development of Marc Bernal and the excellent form of Pedri, Fermín Lopez and Dani Olmo.

It’s claimed that Chelsea ‘want to offer De Jong a way out’ and see the Netherlands star ‘as the ideal successor to Fernández’ and will monitor his return to full fitness with a view to making a move in 2027.

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Lamine Camara to Chelsea looking increasingly unlikely

As for Chelsea resurrecting a move for summer target Camara in January, journalist Ben Jacobs claims that now looks to be off the menu, with Liverpool now free to make a move of their own.

Speaking to CFC Hub, Jacobs said: “If Chelsea move in January, they’d be getting ahead of the market to some degree, because if Alexis Mac Allister leaves Liverpool in summer 2027, then Liverpool are expected to be there for Camara, but they also like Manu Kone and Alex Scott as well.

“Now Monaco sources tell me that they want 70 million Euros (£60m, $79m) for Camara, which was always their sort of ballpark, and then the argument within Monaco is it kind of came down to 55 because they had an urgency to sell at the point they thought Balogun was off, and then it was back on and then ironically it was off again.

“So for Chelsea to return there, I don’t think it’s just about whether they want the player; I think it’s about, almost out of principle, Monaco going to give them a better deal whether in January or the summer than the 55 million they agreed.

“Their confidence in doing that will come from two things. The first is that they believe Camara is now fine staying until the summer. Personally, I’m not so sure if he gets the right opportunity, but that’s the Monaco perspective.

“And then the second thing in all of this is they believe by the summer or even in January if they change their mind about a mid-season sale they’ll get more of a bidding war, because like I said before Liverpool and some other clubs, I heard Bayern as well the other day, might be prepared to enter the race.

“My feeling is as of now that if that number goes above 55 million then Chelsea are unlikely to be there just because of the relationship with Monaco,” Jacobs added. “But if it drops lower to the point where they come back and get a better deal out of it, then you can never say never. And as you say, they may decide by January that they do have the urgency to bring in another mid-season midfielder.”

Despite those comments, TEAMtalk insiders insist that Chelsea continue to have eyes on Camara, with Xabi Alonso a big fan of the player.

Much will probably depend on how De Jong fares on his return from injury and how much truth there actually is in the SPORT report.

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