news-engine

Lamine Camara is set to stay put at AS Monaco this summer despite significant interest from Chelsea. The Ligue 1 midfielder had seemed set to join Xabi Alonso’s project at Stamford Bridge, with the player himself willing to make the move happen, according to Sacha Tavolieri on X (formerly Twitter). However, “issues at the very heart of the deal” are understood to have killed any hopes of a deal being finalized on deadline day. Lamine Camara: Chelsea’s loss may yet be Liverpool’s gain We’re under no illusion that Camara could yet sign for Liverpool instead, with time quickly running out on deadline day. The Merseysiders certainly appear content to leave the squad as is, despite obvious deficiencies (never mind an additional concern over numbers). ❌🔵 Lamine Camara ne rejoindra finalement pas le Chelsea Football Club cet été. Malgré la volonté du joueur et les avancées entre clubs, les problèmes au coeur même du deal ont empêchés la finalisation des éléments manquants pour aboutir à un accord total. Il reste à l'ASM. pic.twitter.com/vm3E8IOs7J — Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) September 1, 2026 However, there’s absolutely nothing to stop the Merseysiders from looking at this option – or revisiting it, we should say, given previous reported links – in a future window not overshadowed by the Bradley Barcola saga. Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust Whether this is a possibility in January, of course, remains to be seen, given that Monaco are perfectly entitled to hold on to a key star in the middle of a campaign. Certainly, Filipe Luis’ side is under no pressure to part ways with the Senegalese international with over two years left on his current terms. LFC are definitely interested – they explored the deal in July Just a quick reminder, as per Fabrizio Romano : ” Many Liverpool fans asking me about Lamine Camara. It’s true that Liverpool were asking for conditions of the deal for Lamine Camara, but it was a few weeks ago. It was in July when they were trying to explore this possibility.” However, Falorin Balogun may have complicated matters According to fresh reports, it would seem that Falorin Balogun’s potentially failed switch to Everton putting Monaco under financial pressure, the Blues could yet get their man. Folarin Balogun move to Everton in doubt, which could open the door to Chelsea reviving move for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. https://t.co/xBSnV25HxM — Sami Mokbel (@SamiMokbel_BBC) September 1, 2026 BBC correspondent Sami Mokbel confirmed that the French outfit “need to sell before tonight’s deadline”. So, failure to move on Balogun could turn the tide in Xabi Alonso’s favour. Shame. What’s stopping Liverpool from making a late push this summer? Andoni Iraola seems relatively convinced that he can make do with his current first-choice options for the midfield pivot in Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. But from a squad perspective, Liverpool are also currently hamstrung by the lack of a free overseas spot. And while some have suggested that the Reds could simply de-register injured man Hugo Ekitike until the winter window, the club seems uninterested in this perfectly legal loophole. Let’s be honest, it’s very much our MO to clear space by shifting spare parts in Federico Chiesa, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo. And normally, we’d be in favor of this, but none of these options look set to make way in the coming hours. READ MORE: Journalist shares what he’s heard from ‘people at Liverpool’ about deadline day activity But perhaps there’ll be takers in January, just in time for the club to address our ongoing lack of a six with natural defensive instincts. At any rate, Andoni Iraola’s just going to have to make do with the parts he’s got available. It’s just a shame this feels less like the club backing the Basque’s considerable coaching acumen and more like recruitment having badly let down Arne Slot’s successor.