Chelsea left furious as Monaco pull out of Lamine Camara deal at last minute | OneFootball

Club sources fuming after “extraordinary” transfer U-turn

Chelsea have been left stunned after Monaco pulled out of the Lamine Camara deal at the last.

Chelsea had looked set to sign Lamine Camara from Monaco at the eleventh hour on Deadline Day after agreeing a deal for the midfielder to move to the west London club for £47million.

Camara was to sign a six-year contract with the option to extend by a further 12 months on top.

He was one of Chelsea’s top midfield reinforcement options as they anticipated Enzo Fernandez’s sale to Manchester City in the days leading up to Tuesday's deadline.

Fernandez is on the way to City for £125m but Chelsea’s pursuit of Camara had cooled after Monaco rejected two bids.

Then complications over Monaco’s sale of Folarin Balogun to Everton meant the French side were under pressure to sell before the French deadline and, following persistence from Chelsea’s recruitment team, the deal was revived and an agreement reached for Camara’s transfer for €55m (£47m).

However, Everton and Monaco went back to the negotiating table after complications with his Everton medical and re-agreed a deal on different, lower, terms.

That meant Monaco were no longer under such pressure to sell and they have sensationally pulled out of the deal despite the fact Standard Sport understands there was a written club-to-club agreement between the teams for Camara’s transfer.

Having completed the necessary steps for Balogun’s sale, Monaco informed Chelsea they were walking away from the deal.

Chelsea believe Monaco have acted in a deeply unprofessional manner and club sources have described their decision to pull out as “extraordinary”.

Chelsea had the opportunity to renege on their £125m British transfer record-equalling sale of Fernandez to City once they learned Monaco were U-turning on Camara. Instead, Chelsea felt the need to honour their own written commitments.