Why walking away from Lamine Camara might come back to bite Liverpool

Every transfer window produces at least one story about a deal that could have happened but didn’t, and this time it centres on AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara. Journalist Lewis Steele revealed in conversation with Dave Davis that the midfielder was put in front of Liverpool before the window shut, only for the club to turn it down. With the benefit of hindsight, that decision is worth picking apart.

A player whose numbers speak loudly

Camara has built a reputation this season as one of Ligue 1’s most productive ball winners, ranking near the top of the division for both possession won and tackles completed. Those are the kind of underlying numbers that tend to catch recruitment teams’ attention, and it is little wonder his name has started circulating around Liverpool given the club’s occasional need for cover and competition through the middle.

Steele was unambiguous when explaining why he rated the Camara link above other midfield names being floated. Per his account, Camara was offered to Liverpool in the final week of the summer window and the club opted against pushing the deal through, despite still having room in the budget to do business.

Why Liverpool said no

The explanation Steele offered was that Liverpool had effectively already decided on the squad they wanted heading into the season, choosing instead to funnel their remaining resources towards the forward line. That is a defensible strategy on paper, particularly given how much of the summer spending went on attacking reinforcements, but it also means a player now drawing plenty of admiring glances slipped through the club’s fingers at a cut-price moment in the market.

It is worth remembering that these late-window opportunities do not always come around twice, and rivals paying closer attention to Ligue 1 form could easily move first if Liverpool decide they want back in.

Does the midfield actually need him?

Steele’s broader view was that Liverpool’s midfield has held up better than many expected, with Alexis Mac Allister impressing more than predicted in a deeper role. Even so, he stopped short of calling the department settled, describing it as still carrying a bit of a muddle and pointing out Liverpool have not yet faced the toughest opposition on their calendar. Dave Davis floated the idea that the flurry of midfield links might simply be a symptom of a quiet international break with little else to discuss, which is a fair caveat to keep in mind.

Even accounting for that, Steele kept coming back to Camara specifically, going as far as calling him a class act and repeating that he is a name worth tracking. Given Liverpool already had the chance to sign him once this year, our view is that if the midfield does start to show cracks once the fixture list gets harder, this will not be a case of Liverpool discovering Camara for the first time. It will be a case of going back for a player they already had the chance to take.