Lamine Camara picks between Liverpool and Chelsea as ‘series of calls’ sets up blockbuster 2027 transfer

Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara still “dreams” of a move to the Premier League despite the deadline day breakdown of his move to Chelsea, and with a journalist now revealing which of the Blues and fellow suitors Liverpool are now expected to win the race.

The Senegalese star held extensive talks with Xabi Alonso and was on the cusp of a £47m (€55m, $63.5m) move to Stamford Bridge, having been identified as Chelsea’s preferred replacement for Manchester City-bound Enzo Fernandez.

But when Monaco pulled the plug on the deal with hours left in the window, Chelsea were left spitting feathers and were left feeling furious at the Ligue 1 side’s conduct.

At the time, it was suggested Monaco only wanted to sell one of Folarin Balogun or Camara, and with the former advancing towards a move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Principality club got cold feet on the deal and decided to end negotiations with the London side.

Ironically, Balogun’s move to Merseyside was to later collapse, though it has since been suggested that it was Liverpool’s late request to Camara to hold tight and wait instead to make a future move to Anfield that ultimately caused his move to Chelsea to be aborted.

Either way, both Chelsea and Liverpool continue to monitor the player, and now journalist Ben Jacobs has suggested which direction the midfielder prefers to go.

Reflecting what others have said and indeed Alonso himself has hinted at, Jacobs has revealed in a report for GiveMeSport that Chelsea’s relationship with Monaco is now ‘broken’.

Jacobs also notes that Liverpool are the ‘ones to watch’ with regard to the Camara transfer, with senior Reds figures making a series of calls, including on deadline day, to inform the player he was very much high in their thinking for 2027 if he didn’t make the move to Stamford Bridge.

And the report adds that while Liverpool ‘never intended to add another midfielder following the departure of Curtis Jones to Inter, unless they sold Alexis Mac Allister’, the Reds are very much planning a midfield addition next year.

Furthermore, Jacobs claims Camara ‘still dreams of making a move to the Premier League and leaving Monaco in January is not discounted.’

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Alonso indicates Chelsea have moved on from Lamine Camara

While Chelsea still plan to sign a midfielder in the January window to replace Enzo, Alonso has strongly indicated that his side will not go back in for Camara after being burned on deadline day.

Speaking before the Arsenal game, Alonso was asked if he is disappointed that his side were not able to sign Camara.

“I think that we are prepared,” he said.

“I’m happy with the squad, with the depth, with the healthy competition we have in different positions.

“As well, I’ve mentioned that there is a good balance between players of different stage, mature players, young players, players already that are in a good maturity moment as well.

“We need to build that energy during the week to perform well at the weekends.

“So far, it’s just two games, but it has been a good start, and now we know who is going to be in the building and that’s good to have this certainty.”

Despite that, our transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey insists the Blues are not yet ready to abandon the race altogether and could yet move if Monaco indicate they are firmly ready to sell.

Indeed, in his report from the weekend, Bailey stated that Chelsea ‘remain keen on Camara’ and sources understand the midfielder and his representatives are ‘continuing to work on his future’, with the expectation that he is ‘likely to leave Monaco in 2027’.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have made their feelings clear after being offered a free-agent former PSG midfielder to fill the void in their engine room.