Supporters whose attention is fixed on English football may not have known much about Lamine Camara before Chelsea agreed a £47million deadline-day deal for the Monaco midfielder. The 22-year-old is a Senegal international and an energetic, combative presence in midfield.
They certainly know his name now. Some Chelsea fans have even suggested that the late collapse of the Camara transfer on Tuesday night spoiled an otherwise impressive summer. That may be an overreaction, as we will explain, but there is no doubt the episode provided an untidy conclusion to the window.
Camara had completed his medical in Monaco under the supervision of Chelsea staff who were on standby. He had spoken to Xabi Alonso about his plans and agreed a six-year contract, with an option for a further 12 months. A private jet had been booked to take him to London on Wednesday morning, where he was due to start a new chapter of his career, because a full written agreement between the clubs was already in place.
But the deal suddenly fell apart. Just minutes before the 11pm deadline, Monaco wrote to Chelsea to say they were cancelling the transfer. The French club also refused to sign a deal sheet, which would have granted the parties an additional two hours to revive the move.
That extra time might have proved useful when Monaco’s Folarin Balogun decided at midnight that he did not want to join Everton. Monaco needed the money from the sale and ultimately received nothing.
Chelsea are furious with Monaco, although some of that frustration may be directed inward after leaving the search for Enzo Fernandez’s replacement so late and taking such a significant gamble. There had been increasing signs that Fernandez would leave during the summer. In the end, Chelsea sold him and failed to bring in a replacement.
Enzo Fernandez collected more than his share of yellow cards during his Chelsea career, but the club are happy with the fee secured from Manchester City for his transfer
Morgan Rogers, right, has already developed an excellent understanding with his friend Cole Palmer and looks an outstanding signing despite his substantial price tag
Even so, this one shortcoming should not overshadow what was, overall, a corrective transfer window for Chelsea after they finished 10th in the Premier League last season.
Of the 20 players Chelsea took to Sunderland on the final day of the previous campaign, 10 have since been sold or loaned out, including Fernandez. A cultural reset was needed. Some of Enzo Maresca’s players remained, while Liam Rosenior was never given much of a chance as his successor. Alonso wanted to retain only those fully committed to his project.
Since BlueCo bought Chelsea in 2022, no player had been booked for dissent more often than Fernandez, who received 12 cautions for poor behaviour. He helped reinforce the perception that the squad was too undisciplined to succeed, although Maresca clearly valued the competitive edge he displayed as vice-captain.
Chelsea therefore sold Fernandez to City for a huge fee, matching the English record amount Newcastle secured from Liverpool for Alexander Isak. Fernandez is a talented footballer, but it is difficult to argue that the 25-year-old Argentina international is worth a guaranteed £125m, even in one of football’s most inflated summers.
From that standpoint, Chelsea negotiated well, particularly after City initially proposed £104m plus add-ons. Chelsea had been seeking closer to £135m, but they ultimately made a profit on a player signed from Benfica for £106.8m in 2023 who never consistently matched the expectations created by that price.
The obvious problem is that Chelsea did not then replace him. They made attempts throughout the summer, including a £64m bid for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott in July, discussions over Roma’s Manu Kone and the pursuit of Camara. Failing to add a midfielder was disappointing, and that sentiment will certainly be shared inside Chelsea after the events of deadline day.
It was the only position in which the squad was not strengthened. Manchester City refused to work to the deadline Chelsea had set for offers for Fernandez earlier in August, and by the time they agreed to his departure, Chelsea were under pressure and racing against the clock.
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Chelsea succeeded in keeping Joao Pedro despite Barcelona’s interest in signing him
However, Chelsea lost out on Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, left, after a chaotic deadline-day collapse
Chelsea may be pleased with the sizeable fee they received, but that money will not strengthen them on the pitch when they visit the Premier League champions, Arsenal, this Sunday.
They will now depend on Moises Caicedo, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson as their senior midfield options. Malo Gusto could also move into the centre if needed. Academy prospect Reggie Watson, 16, impressed during pre-season under Alonso, as did fellow 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli.
Chelsea can take encouragement from the other additions they made, however. Their attempt to sign Camara ended in failure after Monaco’s dramatic change of position, but this was still the summer in which Chelsea began to look serious.
They tried being Todd Boehly’s plaything. They built the Premier League’s youngest-ever side under Behdad Eghbali. In this window, they signed Emiliano Martinez to solve the goalkeeper problem, Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Pep Chavarria, Danny Welbeck and Henderson.
They kept hold of Joao Pedro, who was wanted by Barcelona, and Cole Palmer, who spent the last season hearing how Manchester United were ready to recruit him. All in all, it was not bad business considering Chelsea entered into this summer amid the usual forecasts of financial Armageddon.
At the same time, Chelsea cleared house, selling or loaning Robert Sanchez, Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Alejandro Garnacho, Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Guiu, Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson, among others.
They insisted they would only sell Pedro Neto for close to £100m and Gusto for £75m, with Liverpool making a play for the latter on deadline day to no avail.
After some of their more out-there experiments in recent years, this was the summer Chelsea got serious – as additions like Emiliano Martinez proved
Chelsea’s approach was described as a collaboration, each of their five sporting directors concentrating on their own areas and Eghbali more invested than most co-owners would be.
For example, a great deal of Paul Winstanley’s work focuses on negotiating with clubs and agents and arranging contracts, such as that signed by Joao Pedro this summer.
When working on signings, Laurence Stewart might deal with the data team, or Joe Shields with the scouting department. Sam Jewell’s remit extends to Strasbourg as well as Chelsea, and then there is Dave Fallows, their newest sporting director who is still building his internal portfolio with background checks on prospective purchases among his responsibilities.
Nobody does everything. Chelsea decided some time ago to narrow their directors’ focuses so that they can go deeper into each area, while Alonso has been allowed his own voice with every signing greenlighted by him as manager.
While it ended in anger over the collapse of Camara, the bigger picture shows this club coming out of this summer better than they went into it.