Read full Brief ⚡Full 📖
15-Second Brief
Lamina Kamara remains with Monaco despite Chelsea's late transfer attempt. Thiago Scuro explained that the club only considered talks after issues arose with Folarin Balogun's deal, but negotiations ceased once Everton confirmed their intent to sign him.

Sporting director Thiago Scuro of Monaco has explained the last-minute breakdown in Chelsea's attempts to secure Lamina Kamara as the transfer window came to a close.

Initially, the club were adamant about keeping their midfielder, but the situation shifted temporarily due to uncertainty surrounding Folarin Balogun's proposed move to Everton.

Scuro recounted:

“Throughout the summer, we received inquiries from several clubs. Our answer was always the same: our priority was to keep him. Just yesterday morning, after training, we had a very friendly conversation with Lamina, and he also expressed his desire to stay and help the club. That was the stance up until around lunchtime.

Chelsea was continually probing, asking, ‘What about Lamina?’ I had been in talks with them for the last ten days.

Then, at around 4:00 PM, Chelsea contacted us: ‘Right, we’ve sold a player in that position. The deal is done. Is there now a possibility that Monaco would agree to sell Lamina?’

Our answer remained the same – no.”

However, later on, reports emerged regarding issues with Balogun's medical ahead of his transfer to Everton. According to Scuro, Chelsea started to reassess the situation, thinking the financial situation might lead Monaco to change their stance.

Scuro continued:

“Of course, Chelsea saw an opportunity: ‘Monaco needs money, Balogun is facing issues – let’s give it a go.’

Chelsea called us and said: ‘Perhaps we can be the solution.’ In that moment, we felt we had to open the door for negotiations. It was almost 8:00 PM when we began discussing Lamina's transfer with Chelsea. I personally called the player and informed his agent. We were completely open to it.

Then, around 10:00 PM, or perhaps a bit earlier, Everton came to realise there were no problems and were ready to sign the contract.

As soon as we received that information, we went back to Chelsea straightaway to notify them that the deal would not happen. That’s fair enough; it’s part of the game.”

Thus, Monaco's willingness to discuss Kamara's potential sale hinged directly on the state of Balogun's transfer. Once the move for the forward to Everton appeared to be back on track, discussions with Chelsea were swiftly brought to an end.