It’s been a summer full of surprises at Liverpool. The Reds snuck Victor Munoz through the door under Newcastle United’s nose and have since surprised everyone by agreeing a deal to sign Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo on loan – ending their centre-back crisis.
Now, they’ve turned their focus towards AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara to solve their midfield problem. The Senegal international is on the radar of three other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, and that should come as little shock at this stage of the window.
Liverpool’s potential midfield options 26/27 | Position | Role / key strengths |
|---|---|---|
Florian Wirtz | AM/CM | Creative No.10; vision, dribbling, chance creation |
Dominik Szoboszlai | CM/AM | Box-to-box; pressing, power, shooting |
Alexis Mac Allister | CM/DM | Playmaker; passing, control, intelligence |
Ryan Gravenberch | CM/DM | Progressive midfielder; carrying, strength, mobility |
Curtis Jones | CM | Possession-focused 8; dribbling, ball retention |
Wataru Endo | DM | Defensive midfielder; tackling, positioning |
Harvey Elliott | CM/AM | Creative midfielder; passing, combinations, shooting |
Stefan Bajčetić | DM/CM | Deep midfielder; positioning, press resistance |
Trey Nyoni | CM/AM | Young 8; technical ability, carrying, creativity |
Lamine Camara* | CM/DM | Dynamic 6/8; athleticism, ball-winning, progressive passing |
On paper, it may look like Liverpool are already stacked in midfield. However, the reality is that they struggled in midfield more than anywhere else last season.
Andoni Iraola now faces a guessing game as to what version of Alexis Mac Allister returns after such a disappointing campaign last time out. Meanwhile, question marks remain over Curtis Jones’ future. All of a sudden, adding another option like Camara feels all the more important.
Crucially, the Monaco man is more of a natural No.6 than Ryan Gravenberch. The latter is excellent in his own right, but his best traits come as a No.8 or in a double pivot, where his ability to break through the lines steals the spotlight.
Out of possession, the Dutchman is not as effective and that’s where Camara could come in. The Monaco man averaged 2.67 tackles per 90 last season, whilst Gravenberch made just 1.77.
Camara also completed more interceptions and around double the amount of recovers as the Liverpool man. He would instantly cover Gravenberch’s biggest weakness.
There’s a lot for those at Anfield to think about before the summer transfer window comes to a close and Camara is one of the names now on their radar.
Liverpool join Camara race as Monaco name their price
As reported by Foot Mercato, Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Camara after launching contact to enquire about his availability earlier this summer.
The Reds are joined by Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Man United in an all-Premier League race. Crystal Palace have already reportedly made an offer, with Forest set to follow suit.
After naming a hefty €50m (£43m) asking price, Monaco are already on the hunt for Camara’s replacement and have identified Erik Lira as the man to fill the midfielder’s shoes in the event of his departure.
While Liverpool are playing catch up in the race, they’re in the best financial position to swoop in and hijack Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest this month.
