Why Chelsea view Monaco as 'deeply unprofessional' after losing out on Enzo Fernandez replacement

Chelsea ended up suffering a harsh blow in the final minutes of the transfer window. The Blues sold Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125 million and had everything in place to announce a replacement from Monaco, before things took a complicated turn for the English club.

Various reports in the English media indicated that the London club had agreed a deal for Lamine Camara worth £47m. The Senegalese midfielder had even signed a six-year contract, with the option of a further year, and had already undergone his medical in the Principality.

The agreement was only reached because the Ligue 1 side, managed by Filipe Luis, had no intention of selling Folarin Balogun to Everton, who instead turned their attention to Joshua Zirkzee, of Manchester United. What followed, however, complicated matters for Chelsea.

Chelsea furious with Monaco after Camara deal collapses

Everton were unable to sign Zirkzee because Manchester United blocked his departure, having concluded they would be left with too few attacking options otherwise.

Everton still needed a centre-forward, particularly since they had also failed to sign Richarlison from Tottenham. As a result, they turned their attention back to Balogun.

This time, talks between the Toffees and Monaco progressed. Seeing that they risked losing two of their key starters on the final day of the window, Filipe Luis' side, under the guidance of CEO Thiago Scuro, decided to collapse the Camara deal with Chelsea, leaving the London club furious.

"The club are furious about what they've called a deeply unprofessional way of conducting business," journalist Fabrizio Romano wrote on social media. "The feeling at Stamford Bridge is that they've been the victims of an extraordinary and unprofessional situation," reiterated BBC reporter Nizaar Kinsella.

Monaco had already lost several key figures from the squad in recent weeks: Maghnes Akliouche, Aladji Bamba, Caio Henrique and Krepin Diatta.

Needing to raise further funds due to financial constraints, the club reached the final day of negotiations knowing it would sell either Camara or Balogun, but not both. Ironically, however, the American centre-forward will not be leaving the Ligue 1 side either.

Balogun's medical at Everton revealed a physical issue with the player. The English club then decided to renegotiate the terms of the deal, which prompted Balogun to change his mind about the move. As a result, Filipe Luis ends up with two "reinforcements".

Blues could have blocked the Enzo Fernandez deal

The collapse of the Camara deal raised the question of whether Chelsea could have gone back on their sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City, in exactly the same way Monaco did to prevent Camara's departure.

There would genuinely have been enough time to stop the player, a key figure at the club, from leaving. However, according to English journalists, the London club chose to honour the commitment it had made to their rivals.

"Sources suggest Chelsea had time to stop Enzo Fernandez's move to Manchester City, but chose to honour their word," Kinsella wrote.

"Chelsea had the opportunity to block Enzo Fernandez's move to Manchester City after learning of the Monaco U-turn, but decided to allow the deal to proceed after giving their word to both City and the player," reported journalist Ben Jacobs, of talkSPORT.

With the Argentinian's departure, Xabi Alonso is left with Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson, Valentin Barco, and makeshift full-backs Reece James and Malo Gusto as his midfield options for the Blues.