Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly among a host of clubs eyeing a summer move for 21-year-old Monaco midfield prospect Lamine Camara.
The 2004-born protege is making a name for himself in a Monegasques side who are on course for Champions League qualification, currently sitting in fourth place in the Ligue 1 table.
Camara has two goals and six assists under his belt from 20 Ligue 1 appearances in the current campaign and was also a mainstay in the UCL for Adi Hutter‘s side, starting nine matches in Europe’s top tournament.
The 21-year-old could not prevent Monaco from suffering elimination at the hands of Benfica in the knockout round playoffs, but he has gained a reputation as one of Ligue 1’s most talented midfield prospects nonetheless.
Having excelled as a deep-lying playmaker domestically, Camara has also shone in an attacking sense at international level, contributing four goals and two assists from 16 appearances for the Senegal national team.
Man City, Chelsea in multi-club battle for Camara?
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Monaco only brought Camara to the Stade Louis II from Metz last year, forking out £12.5m to sign the Senegalese midfielder, but they may face an uphill struggle to keep hold of him when the campaign is done and dusted.
According to TBR Football, a plethora of top European clubs have expressed an interest in Camara, including all of Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
However, the Premier League ‘Big Six’ quartet are supposedly not alone in their pursuit of the former Metz man, who is allegedly on the radar of ‘almost every top club’ on the continent.
Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Bournemouth are also said to be keeping a close eye on Camara’s displays, as are Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen.
The report adds that the midfielder has already drawn comparison with France stalwart N’Golo Kante, and he is considered to be one of Senegal’s best talents since Sadio Mane.
Are Monaco prepared to let Camara leave this summer?
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Monaco tied Camara down to a five-year contract upon his arrival from Metz last year and therefore have no need to quickly sever ties with the Senegal international, who is not due to become a free agent until 2029.
Les Monegasques are therefore said to be prepared to rebuff any approaches that come their way this summer, unless an interested party stumps up an offer that the club cannot refuse.
Before moving to France in 2023 with Metz, Camara came through the Generation Foot academy in his homeland, the same system that Mane, Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha emerged from.
The 21-year-old became an Under-20 African Cup winner with Senegal in 2023 and also won the African Nations Championship with his country that same year.
