Chelsea transfer news: Monaco chief speaks out on Lamine Camara saga, defends decision to scrap deadline-day deal

Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro has insisted that scrapping Lamine Camara's proposed transfer to Chelsea on deadline day is "part of the game".

On a day of twists and turns, Chelsea appeared to have missed out on the Senegal international before an issue with Folarin Balogun's Everton medical brought a deal back on the table.

That was a consequence of Monaco needing to make a big-money sale before the end of the summer transfer window.

However, once Everton agreed to sign Balogun for different terms, Monaco informed Chelsea that they would not be completing a deal for Camara, despite a fee being agreed.

Even when Balogun ultimately changed his mind on moving to Everton, Chelsea and Monaco could not attempt to finalise anything for Camara because the Ligue 1 club had not signed a deal sheet prior to the closure of the market.

Monaco chief defends Camara's failed Chelsea move

At a press conference on Tuesday, Scuro outlined what had happened throughout the day, insisting that it had always been Monaco's plan to retain the services of Camara if circumstances allowed.

He told reporters: "We were approached by several clubs during the summer. The message was always the same: our priority was for him to stay.

"Even yesterday morning, after the training session, we had a conversation with Lamine directly which was very friendly, where he also showed the desire to stay and help the club. This was the situation until mid-afternoon.

"What happened was that Chelsea were always testing and trying. 'What about Lamine?' I've been speaking to them for the last 10 days.

"Around 16:00 yesterday we got contact from Chelsea: "OK, we sold a player in this position. Deal done. Is there any possibility Monaco are open to selling Lamine?" The answer was the same: no."

Quizzed on developments after Balogun's Everton move first looked in doubt, he replied: "Of course, Chelsea saw an opportunity. 'Monaco need money, Balogun is struggling there, let's go and try'.

"Chelsea called us and said: 'Maybe we can be the solution'. At that moment, we had to open the door to discussions. It was almost 20:00 and we started negotiations with Chelsea for Lamine. I contacted the player directly myself. I called him. I informed his agent, as we always do. We were very open.

"What happened was that around 22:00 our time, maybe a bit earlier, Everton realised there was no issue and decided they were ready to sign the contract.

"As soon as we received that information, we came back to Chelsea and said there was no deal. Because that's also fair. It's part of the game."

Could Camara still leave Monaco during the summer transfer window?

With the Turkish, Portuguese and Saudi Arabian transfer windows among those still open, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that an offer could arrive for Camara.

Monaco will want to explore opportunities in those markets to generate the funds that they need to comply with the regulations.

However, it is questionable whether Camara will want to move to any of those nations when he was so close to a transfer to the Premier League.