Zakaria's advice to Camara after his Chelsea move fell through: "It's better here"

Some transfers collapse and get forgotten. Others keep generating headlines months later. The Lamine Camara to Chelsea deal falls into the second category, especially now that he's received some direct advice from someone who knows exactly what it feels like to pass through Stamford Bridge without leaving a mark: his teammate Denis Zakaria.

The Swiss defender, who endured an unremarkable loan spell at Chelsea from Juventus in 2022-23 (seven Premier League appearances under three different managers, with the club finishing 12th), didn't hold back after Monaco's 2-1 win over Lens. That victory, at home, kept Filipe Luis' side atop Ligue 1, and it was right there, with the match still fresh, that Zakaria delivered his message to Camara.

Chelsea? I told him it was good, but that it's better here. I know the player and the person he is. He's very professional. I think the failed transfer has made him even stronger. He was incredible against Lens.Denis Zakaria

To understand the weight of those words, it helps to recall how the whole thing ended during the transfer window. Chelsea had reached a verbal agreement with Monaco worth 47 million pounds (63 million dollars) for the 22-year-old Senegalese midfielder, negotiated in the final hours of deadline day. But the French club backed out at the last moment, without offering explanations that satisfied London. A source cited by the Press Association went as far as calling Monaco's conduct "extraordinary and deeply unprofessional."

Camara, for his part, had already made clear he isn't looking back.

There was a possibility I would leave. It didn't happen at the last moment and that's part of football. I've turned the page and I'm focused on the season.Lamine Camara

And focused he has been. Monaco leads Ligue 1 with a two-point cushion over Lyon and Paris FC (the latter managed by Liam Rosenior, Chelsea's former head coach), having won four of their first five matches of the season.

Across the Channel at Stamford Bridge, Camara's absence in midfield is starting to show. The team has looked thin in that area since Moises Caicedo's injury, which has limited him to just 14 minutes this season, and after the sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for 125 million pounds (167 million dollars) on deadline day itself.

Curiously, Filipe Luis, now leading a Monaco side flying high in France, won a league title as a player with Chelsea back in 2015 and was even floated as a potential replacement for Rosenior before the club ultimately hired Xabi Alonso. Football, sometimes, comes full circle.