Chelsea left fuming as Monaco pull out of Camara deal

Lamine Camara's move to Chelsea collapsed within the hour of transfer deadline day, with Monaco walking away from a £47.1m agreement they had put in writing.

The 22-year-old midfielder had already completed a medical in France and was set to sign a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge. A deal sheet had gone to the Premier League. Then, shortly after the window shut at 23:00 BST, Chelsea were told in writing that Monaco would not go through with the sale.

Monaco had spent the day trying to offload Folarin Balogun to Everton instead, needing one major sale to balance the books and reportedly preferring to lose the striker rather than the midfielder. When Everton's move for Balogun fell into doubt, Monaco lowered their asking price for Camara and let the Chelsea deal advance. Once Balogun's transfer looked to be back on, Monaco reversed course on Camara. Balogun then rejected the reworked Everton move shortly after midnight, leaving the Ligue 1 club with neither sale completed.

Camara had played in Monaco's 2-0 win over Marseille on Sunday; Balogun was left out of that squad. Chelsea say Monaco gave no explanation for pulling out, though sources close to the situation told BBC Sport the Everton negotiations were behind the change of heart.

The timing compounds Chelsea's problem. The club had already sanctioned Enzo Fernández's £125m move to Manchester City, a joint British transfer record, on the assumption that Camara would arrive to fill the gap. With the window closed, there is no route back to the deal until January, and Liverpool have reportedly already made contact with Monaco over signing the Senegal international in 2027.

Camara's agent, Diomansy Kamara, said the player's wishes should carry weight in how the move was handled.

For now Camara stays at Monaco, and Chelsea go into the new season with a midfield short of the man they had lined up to replace Fernández.