Liverpool Targeting Lamine Camara as Late Window Option

Liverpool’s quiet summer might be about to explode into life, with Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara offered to the club in the final stretch of the window – and he may not be the only Senegal international heading for Anfield.

So far, the business has been controlled rather than chaotic. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have arrived on permanent deals, while Ronald Araujo has joined on loan from Barcelona to strengthen the back line. A deal is now in place for PSG winger Bradley Barcola after a chase that has dragged through the summer.

But Andoni Iraola wants more. Especially out wide.

Speaking before Liverpool’s clash with Nottingham Forest, the head coach made it clear that the club are still working the market.

“The word is ‘ideally’, ideally is the magic word,” Iraola said when asked if he would like further reinforcements. “In the end, there are certain things that you can do, certain things that we don’t know if we can do. But it’s true that the priority has been to strengthen in the wide areas.

“Still, we have four, five days, I’m sure if we can improve other areas, we will.”

Barcola is one target. Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr is another. Yet Liverpool’s late push could now stretch into central midfield.

According to Ben Jacobs, Monaco’s Lamine Camara has been offered to both Liverpool and Chelsea as a late-window opportunity, with Crystal Palace having already seen a bid rejected earlier this month. The Reds suddenly have a gap in midfield after selling Curtis Jones to Inter Milan, even as they look to fast-track highly rated youngster Trey Nyoni.

The Camara situation is being driven by Monaco’s own reshuffle. Journalist Luca Bendoni reports that the Ligue 1 club have reached an agreement in principle with Cruz Azul for midfielder Erik Lira in a deal worth around €10m including add-ons. That move hinges on Monaco offloading a non-EU player – and Camara is one of the prime candidates.

That is where Liverpool come in.

The Senegal angle does not end there. Senegalese journalist La Loumance has suggested that Camara is “not the only Senegalese who could sign with Liverpool,” hinting that both he and Sarr could feasibly land at Anfield before the deadline.

Sarr’s future has already become one of the window’s subplots. The Independent’s Miguel Delaney reported that Liverpool are still pursuing the Palace attacker, even after new Eagles boss Pierre Sage insisted the 28-year-old is not for sale.

Reports initially claimed a bid of around £50m from Liverpool had been turned down. TEAMtalk’s Graeme Bailey has since been told that no formal offer has actually gone in. Instead, Liverpool are understood to have made an enquiry over Sarr’s availability, with the player’s camp then offering him to the club in an attempt to spark a concrete proposal.

So the dynamic is clear: Liverpool are circling, Sarr’s representatives are pushing, and Palace are publicly holding firm.

All this points to a frantic final few days before the window shuts on September 1. Anfield’s recruitment team are juggling wide options, central reinforcements and non-EU quotas across Europe.

And somewhere in the middle of it, a late midfield move is expected to centre on a player Iraola already knows well – a final twist that could define how Liverpool look when the real grind of the season begins.