Chelsea to sign Lamine Camara as Enzo Fernandez replacement agreed in an eleventh-hour deal
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Lamine Camara from Monaco at the eleventh hour on Deadline Day.
Sources have told an agreement has been reached between Chelsea and the French club for the midfielder to move to the west London club for £47million.
Camara will sign a six-year contract with the option to extend by a further 12 months on top. He is expected to arrive in London on Wednesday.
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.
But complications over Monaco’s sale of Folarin Balogun to Everton meant the French side were under pressure to sell before the French deadline.
That, and the persistence of Chelsea’s recruitment team, helped to revive the deal and an agreement has now been reached for Camara’s transfer for €55m (£47m).
Chelsea sources had insisted for weeks that Fernandez would need replacing if he were to be sold to City.
But Chelsea were not optimistic of securing a replacement once Roma blocked a move for Manu Kone and Monaco continued to play hard ball on Camara.
Now, though, Senegal international Camara is set for his move after all, provided all documents are finalised before the deadline and his medical is passed.
Camara, 22, has represented Monaco since 2024, scoring six goals in 75 appearances.