Liverpool eyeing Chelsea’s two deadline-day transfer targets

Liverpool are reportedly expressing a strong interest in Lamine Camara and Manu Kone after Chelsea pursued the two midfielders towards the end of the transfer window.

As the summer deadline came into view, Chelsea turned to the transfer market and ramped up their efforts to tie down a top-class replacement for the Manchester City-bound Enzo Fernandez.

A host of high-profile names were understood to be on the Blues’ shortlist of potential solutions, including Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

But this wishlist was soon whittled down to just two and reports emanating out of Italy indicated the west London giants were on the verge of a total agreement for Roma and France star Kone, 25, on deadline day.

However, throughout the summer, Roma made it clear they had been extremely reluctant to lose Kone given his central role in Gian Piero Gasperini’s plans for the new season.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports that Kone’s proposed switch to Stamford Bridge had been ‘very close’ to completion before Chelsea ‘pivoted’ to Monaco’s Camara.

In a remarkable turn of events, Chelsea shook hands with Monaco over a £47million fee for Camara, only for the Ligue 1 outfit to renege on their agreement at the eleventh hour as they had not successfully renegotiated a deal to sell Folarin Balogun to Everton.

It’s claimed Liverpool have also held a genuine interest in Camara, even before Curtis Jones departed Anfield to join Serie A champions Inter Milan this summer.

Ornstein suggests a move from Liverpool for Camara down the line would likely hinge on Alexis Mac Allister’s future, with the Argentine out of contract on Merseyside in 2028.

In the report, Ornstein states that Liverpool were also among the many clubs keeping tabs on Chelsea’s other deadline-day target Kone, along with Manchester United – who looked at the France international ‘very heavily’.

Kone and Camara have three years remaining on their respective deals with Roma and Monaco.

After Camara’s move to Chelsea broke down in spectacular fashion, the player’s agent took to social media to unleash a furious rant against Monaco’s treatment of the Senegal international.

‘The cases of Ismaila Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us,’ Diomansy Kamara – former West Brom and Fulham striker – wrote on his Instagram page.

‘We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.

‘Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.

‘A transfer shouldn’t just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there’s a man, a career, dreams and life choices.

‘The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football. But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player?

‘The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.

‘Let’s never forget what’s important: behind every success, it’s the players who write history first.’

While they were keeping tabs on developments surrounding both Camara and Kone, Liverpool’s hierarchy concentrated their efforts on wrapping up a deal for Bradley Barcola in the back-end of the transfer window.

The Reds would go on to reach a £123m agreement with Paris Saint-Germain to land Barcola, making the two-time Champions League winner the club’s second most expensive signing in history – behind Alexander Isak.

The Merseyside giants also completed permanent deals for Osasuna winger Victor Munoz and Genk goalkeeper Lucca Brughmans this summer, though the latter returned to the Belgian club for the remainder of the season.

Ronald Araujo, meanwhile, joined on a temporary basis from Barcelona and Jeremy Jacquet officially became a Liverpool player after agreeing a move to Anfield back in February.

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