Chelsea sees Lamine Camara deal collapse after Monaco's last-minute U-turn

There were just minutes left before the transfer window closed, and Chelsea already considered the signing done. Everything was in place, with agreements reached both with the player and the club, until Monaco decided to pull the plug on the whole deal. That simple, and that painful, for Enzo Maresca's midfield plans.

The story has several chapters. First, Chelsea submitted an offer of 45 million euros for Lamine Camara early on deadline day, and Monaco turned it down flat. The English club didn't give up and raised their bid to 55 million euros (roughly 64 million dollars, 47 million pounds), a figure that did lead to a final agreement. The 22 year old Senegalese midfielder appeared set to sign for Stamford Bridge.

But the transfer market works this way: nothing is done until it's signed. According to sources consulted by ESPN, Monaco backed out at the last minute on Tuesday after seeing that Folarin Balogun's move to Everton, which hours earlier seemed to have collapsed, was coming back together following a renegotiation. The Principality club wasn't willing to lose both of its key pieces on the same day, so they chose to keep Camara and let Balogun leave instead.

A blow Chelsea didn't see coming

At Chelsea, the feeling was one of pure disappointment. The same sources indicate that the club even considered scrapping another last minute deal, Enzo Fernandez's move to Manchester City for 125 million pounds (169 million dollars), but ultimately decided to honor that agreement rather than add more chaos to an already messy night.

Can an entire midfield be rebuilt in a matter of hours? Chelsea tried, but fell short. Even without Camara, Maresca's squad isn't exactly short on options in that area of the pitch: Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco remain, along with Reece James, who already showed he could play in midfield during Sunday's 4-3 win over Brighton.

It also remained unclear whether Balogun's transfer to Everton was completed within the deadline, something that should become clear in the coming hours.

As for Camara, Chelsea's interest wasn't random. Last season he put up solid numbers for Monaco: three goals and four assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, on top of representing Senegal at this summer's World Cup. A young profile with upside and already some international experience, exactly what London was looking for to strengthen the midfield. For now, he'll continue wearing Monaco's red and white shirt.