Split image - Coventry City Head Coach / Manager Frank Lampard and Lamine Camara of AS Monaco
Split image - Coventry City Head Coach / Manager Frank Lampard and Lamine Camara of AS Monaco
I, for one, will not be complaining if Chelsea opt not to do business with AS Monaco for the foreseeable future.
All of us are still absolutely steaming after how deadline day went down! Losing a midfielder of Enzo Fernandez’s ability so late in the transfer window was a blow, but Lamine Camara was set to soften it.
However, at the very last second, Monaco performed an unprofessional U-turn and decided to pull the plug on Camara’s move to west London despite agreeing to sell the 22-year-old to Chelsea.
There is some talk that the Blues could return for Camara in January, but could you really blame the club if they had reservations about entering discussions with Monaco again?
Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson
Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson
Chelsea should now prioritise James Garner over Lamine Camara
Call me bitter (I really am at the moment, to be honest!), but if I were in charge of Chelsea, Monaco are getting put on the blacklist. Camara is a talented midfielder with a lot of potential, but Chelsea should now be focusing on other players after this whole debacle, including Everton’s James Garner.
On deadline day, it emerged that Chelsea had a mystery midfield target from the Premier League, which was later revealed to be Garner.
Garner’s name is perhaps not as glamorous as Camara’s, due to the fact that he is playing for Everton and not a trendy European team like Monaco. But the 25-year-old has some very good attributes.
James Garner of Everton in action
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
For example, Garner’s passing is efficient. As per WhoScored, he had a pass success rate of 87.2% and completed 1.5 key passes per game last season.
Out of possession, Garner is also very effective. During the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, he made 3.2 tackles per game, which was the second-highest average in the division.
In total, the Everton man scored two goals and provided seven assists in 38 top-flight appearances. Playing 38 games is a feat in itself and should capture Chelsea’s attention after all the injury problems they have had in recent years.
Frank Lampard a huge fan of James Garner
Frank Lampard is managing Coventry City right now, so they will be his focus. With that being said, as a Chelsea legend, he will still be following the club and would likely be pleased to see his former employers sign Garner.
Lampard worked with the England international during his time as Everton manager and had huge praise for him following his arrival at Goodison Park.
READ MORE:Why Lamine Camara was so excited about prospect of joining Chelsea
“James is a fantastic midfielder with a great all-round game who has qualities we know Evertonians will appreciate,” Lampard said (via The Independent).
During the summer transfer window, Chelsea had a bid for Alex Scott rejected and are likely to return for the Bournemouth star or Camara in January, but Garner should also be in the conversation when the market opens again.