Liverpool Target Monaco’s Lamine Camara as Midfield Search Continues
Liverpool’s summer business is not done yet. Not by a long shot.
Even as the club edges towards a huge £120m package deal for Bradley Barcola from PSG, eyes on Merseyside are drifting back to the centre of the pitch. A well-sourced update on X has linked the Reds with Monaco’s rising star Lamine Camara, with the Senegal international emerging as a serious option for a late-window midfield move.
Midfield question refuses to go away
Liverpool’s title-winning midfield of 2024/25 carried plenty of swagger. Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch brought goals, energy and creativity, and helped drive Andoni Iraola’s side to the summit.
They also left a bruise.
The 2-2 draw with Newcastle at the weekend underlined the concern that has lingered for months: this is a midfield that can slice teams open, but it can also be sliced open itself. When both Szoboszlai and Gravenberch push on, the middle of the park can look alarmingly bare.
That’s why the debate inside and outside the club is so sharp. Strengthen the forward line with Barcola and one more attacker, or divert one of those final signings into a deeper, more defensive-minded midfielder? The need up front is clear, but so is the vulnerability behind the front line.
Camara’s profile: bite and brains
If Liverpool do decide to plug that gap, Camara fits the brief.
The Monaco midfielder, 22, brings the kind of defensive instincts Iraola’s current options lack. His Ligue 1 numbers in the 2025/26 season tell the story of a player who relishes the dirty work:
- 6.56 duels won per 90 – 92nd percentile
- 56% of duels won – 78th percentile
- 5.69 defensive contributions per 90 – 73rd percentile
- 7.68 recoveries per 90 – 93rd percentile
- 1.02 possessions won in the final third per 90 – 95th percentile
He doesn’t just screen. He hunts. He wins the ball high, he recovers it deep, and he competes ferociously in individual battles.
The twist? He can play as well as he can destroy.
On the ball, Camara’s output in Ligue 1 last season was just as eye-catching:
- 0.21 xA per 90 – 93rd percentile
- 1.7 chances created per 90 – 89th percentile
- 0.39 big chances created per 90 – 91st percentile
- 82.71 touches per 90 – 92nd percentile
This isn’t a limited destroyer. It’s a midfielder comfortable dictating play, progressing the ball and carving out opportunities, all while maintaining that defensive edge Liverpool so clearly lack in certain game states.
For a coach like Iraola, who demands aggression both with and without the ball, that blend is gold dust.
Price, priorities and a looming decision
Quality, of course, comes at a cost.
Monaco have already turned down a £35m offer from Crystal Palace, according to the BBC. Other reports put the Ligue 1 club’s valuation in the £42.8m–£51.4m range. That fee sits in the bracket where Liverpool need to be absolutely convinced, especially with only a limited number of signings left on the agenda.
Recent reporting suggests the Reds will make a maximum of two further additions this summer. One of those is effectively ring-fenced for Barcola. That leaves a straight fight: a second forward to complete a stacked attacking unit, or a midfielder like Camara to rebalance the side.
Leave the midfield as it is, and Liverpool back Iraola to manage the risk with structure and rotations, trusting Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and the existing options to carry the load. Move for Camara, and they accept going slightly lighter in the forward line in exchange for a more secure spine.
The market is moving. Monaco know they hold a valuable asset. Liverpool know exactly where their squad creaks when the pressure rises.
Now the question is simple: do they chase one more flash of attacking firepower, or pay the price to give their title defence the defensive anchor it might desperately need?
