Liverpool Eye January Move for Lamine Camara and Tyrick Mitchell
Liverpool are weighing up a January move for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, with the deal now described as a “real possibility” – but it will come at a premium after Chelsea’s late collapse in the summer window.
Camara back on the market – at a higher price
Camara was on the brink of joining Chelsea on deadline day. He had held lengthy talks with the London club about his role, agreed to the switch and effectively gave the green light for the move to Stamford Bridge, only for Monaco to pull the plug in the final hours.
That decision has shifted the landscape. Chelsea still like him. They haven’t walked away. But anyone coming back to the table in January, Liverpool included, will face a steeper asking price.
The package Chelsea had lined up sat around €55m (£47m, $63m). Now, according to the latest indications, Monaco are expected to push closer to €70m (£60m, $81m).
Liverpool have already started to position themselves. Football Insider report that the Anfield club have “held talks” over a potential move for the 22-year-old, with transfer insider Mick Brown confirming Camara’s name is very much alive in internal discussions.
“Lamine Camara is a name that has been discussed behind the scenes,” Brown told Football Insider. “Liverpool will be keeping an eye on how he gets on for Monaco, but there is definitely a deal to be done as we saw when he nearly joined Chelsea.
“His agent has been very outspoken about trying to get him a move, so I expect Liverpool will have held talks with him about the possibility of signing him in January.”
With Chelsea still lurking and the price rising, any move from Liverpool would be a clear statement on how highly they rate the Monaco midfielder.
Mitchell in demand as left-back market tightens
While midfield is one area of focus, Liverpool are also being tipped to enter the race for a Premier League-proven left-back – and that could put them on a collision course with Manchester United.
Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell, already linked with a move to Old Trafford, is now being mentioned as a serious option for clubs hunting reliability on the left side of defence.
Brown, in a separate update to Football Insider, underlined why Mitchell is drawing this level of attention.
“Man United aren’t going to be the only club interested in signing Mitchell,” he said. “For any club looking for a left-back in the Premier League, there are not many options who come up with such consistent performances as Mitchell has for Crystal Palace.
“He impresses every single week, gets on with his job, he’s terrific defensively and he’s improved the attacking side of his game as well, he’s a top, top player.”
That consistency is exactly what Liverpool are thought to be weighing up. Andoni Iraola’s options at left-back are currently Milos Kerkez and Kostas Tsimikas. Kerkez has yet to fully convince, while Tsimikas is out of contract at the end of the season and still on the fringes of the side.
“So when you look at those top clubs, you’ve got Liverpool where Milos Kerkez has been questioned a bit and maybe isn’t as consistent as they’d like him to be,” Brown continued.
“Then you’ve got Chelsea, who are always going to be interested in this type of deal where they can bring a quality player in without having to spend big.
“Either of those clubs could make a move for Mitchell, because as I say, he will tick a number of boxes for them and could be a very good addition.”
Two positions, two different markets, and two players attracting elite-level attention. If Liverpool do decide to push ahead on both fronts in January, the window could say a lot about how aggressively they plan to shape the next phase of their squad.
