AS Monaco Respond To Chelsea's £34m Transfer Enquiry For Lamine Camara | OneFootball

Could Lamine Camara be Enzo Fernandez's replacement should he leave Chelsea?

Chelsea have made an enquiry for AS Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, who is valued at close to €60 million (£51.4m) by the Ligue 1 side.

The Blues’ interest in the 22-year-old was first reported earlier this month. But Chelsea have not been the only club monitoring Camara. At the time, they joined Manchester United, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace in the race for the midfielder.

However, according to RMC Sport, Chelsea have now made their initial move.

Chelsea are reported to have sounded out Monaco to see if an offer around €40m (£34.2m) would be sufficient to land the Senegal international.

The answer was unsurprisingly negative. Monaco are adamant that they would demand close to £51.4m for Camara.

Given that, according to the BBC, Crystal Palace had a verbal bid worth more than £35m for Camara turned down earlier this month, Monaco’s response is quite expected, regardless of any favourable payment terms Chelsea could offer.

Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro recently made it clear that they plan on keeping Camara unless there is enough financial incentive to alter their stance.

“Lamine Camara? I hope he stays,” Scuro told Canal+ on Friday, as quoted by MadeInFOOT.

“We're working on that. We also know the situation in French football.

“Unfortunately, decisions must be made by taking financial matters into account. But we hope he will stay and do one more season at Monaco.”

It is understood that Camara is not the only midfielder on Chelsea’s shortlist, but Enzo Fernandez’s potential move to Manchester City could accelerate the London club’s pursuit of the Monaco midfielder.

It is worth noting that Camara would not be a like-for-like replacement for the Argentina international.

Fernandez is a creative box-crasher with an eye for goal, while the former is a more well-rounded number eight with outstanding ball-winning instincts.

But do Chelsea even need a similar replacement for Fernandez?

Xabi Alonso primarily utilises a 3-4-2-1 formation with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers operating as two number 10s. Instead of an additional attacking presence in the pockets, a true number eight arguably suits the system more.

Chelsea need central midfielders who can cover the ground for their overlapping wing-backs and can reliably move the ball from the back to their front three.

Camara, who averaged more forward passes and ball recoveries per 90 than Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in league competitions last season, ticks both boxes.

The question is whether he can replicate it against Premier League opposition.

Reece James and Moises Caicedo appear to be at the top of the midfield pecking order under Xabi Alonso, with Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson, and Dario Essugo currently serving as additional options.

There is not much room for another midfielder, but that may change if Fernandez, linked with Manchester City, departs and Essugo leaves on loan.