Liverpool supporters got a first look at Monaco defensive midfielder Lamine Camara when his side beat the Reds 3-2 at Anfield in pre-season
Liverpool supporters got a first look at Monaco defensive midfielder Lamine Camara when his side beat the Reds 3-2 at Anfield in pre-season(Image: Getty Images)
View 6 Images
As the disappointment of last season drew to a close with Arne Slot still in situ as Liverpool head coach, many supporters expected a new midfielder to be close to the top of the club's recruitment list.
The intensity, solidity and ability to progress the ball centrally on show from the Reds' midfield cohort last season was below the standards set during the Dutchman's title-winning debut season, and the expectation that Liverpool would strengthen in the position only increased after Slot was relieved of his duties and replaced with Andoni Iraola - who became known for his direct, high-pressing style of play at former club Bournemouth.
Back in June, central midfield was the first position the ECHO covered in our series assessing potential Liverpool targets' performances in the data, even while most headlines focused on the summer's other prime objective - replacing Mohamed Salah on the wing.
But despite links to players like Roma's Manu Kone, Monaco's Lamine Camara and - as always - Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, no such move materialised, even as Curtis Jones' exit to Inter Milan in a £30m deal reduced the new boss's options.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp makes 'unfortunate' Florian Wirtz claim after backtracking as Liverpool wish shared
READ MORE: Liverpool breakthrough star backed to outstrip his dad after Andoni Iraola decision
However, The Athletic's respected transfer reporter David Ornstein has since revealed that reports late in the window of interest in 22-year-old Senegalese midfielder Camara, whose deadline day move to Chelsea broke down amid the chaos of Everton's Folarin Balogun deal collapsing, are "credible".
Now there's finally have a realistic candidate to freshen up the midfield ranks, why is it that Liverpool are interested in Camara? And most importantly, what can he offer that the Reds' current options are struggling to provide?
Pivot problems
Basic information from Transfermarkt about Liverpool target Lamine Camara
Basic information from Transfermarkt about Liverpool target Lamine Camara(Image: Morgan King/Transfermarkt)
View 6 Images
Ornstein, responding to The Athletic reader questions in a Q&A, was clear about the conditions that would have seen Liverpool move for a midfielder in the summer.
"Liverpool have some interest in Lamine Camara, which would be related to (fellow midfielder) Alexis Mac Allister departing," Ornstein wrote. "There were rumours of Manchester City looking at him if they hadn't signed Enzo Fernandez.
"I think there was some credibility to that. I don't know if any sort of formal conversations took place. Liverpool would have had to look at options, even though they were only going to sign a midfielder, in spite of Curtis Jones leaving, if a further departure occurred. Camara was one option."
That position from the club could well be tested if Liverpool continue to struggle in midfield, with current fourth-choice option Trey Nyoni receiving few opportunities as of yet to show off his talents in the Premier League.
Mac Allister, meanwhile, was Liverpool's best midfielder over the first few games of the new season, proving many of his doubters wrong after seeing his levels drop massively in the previous campaign and revealing that he had turned down opportunities to leave with the club yet to offer him a new contract.
What the Argentine arguably struggled with the most last season was that, with Ryan Gravenberch playing a more expansive role than in the title-winning season, the 27-year-old was left to cover huge amounts of space by himself - something that didn't suit his more technical profile.
But despite another busy summer for Liverpool's No. 10, reaching a second World Cup final with Argentina, Mac Allister looks refreshed under Iraola and his defensive contributions and duels have increased enormously.
The partnership between Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai has been preferred by Iraola so far and has looked somewhat more suited to the style the Basque is attempting to implement than last year's combination, with Gravenberch particularly struggling so far.
Still, Liverpool's midfield has looked porous. Despite all three of Liverpool's preferred midfielders offering plenty for Iraola to work with on the ball, none of those three options prefer to stay deeper and dictate play, with Mac Allister currently the closest match in this respect but lacking the defensive solidity of most natural deep-lying midfielders.
Wataru Endo is, of course, still in the squad, but is perhaps less accomplished on the ball and is yet to feature this season. Iraola admitted after the 0-0 draw with Fulham that "in front of him in his position I have a lot of players."
Iraola's midfielders have different sets of attributes but finding a partnership that works has proved difficult. Data from Fotmob
Iraola's midfielders have different sets of attributes but finding a partnership that works has proved difficult. Data from Fotmob (Image: Morgan King/Fotmob)
View 6 Images
Going off the options Iraola has preferred so far, then, it becomes apparent that striking the right balance is a major conundrum. Szoboszlai is nothing if not creative, but his tackling and duels leave plenty to be desired; Mac Allister has pressed and tackled well but struggles in duels and mobility; and Gravenberch is an excellent ball-carrier but lacks the passing range, defensive contributions and pressing abilities of his teammates.
What Liverpool really need, in an ideal world, is a player who can match the intensity required, do the basics right and who is willing to sacrifice himself for the team.
A player who can mop up in the midfield a bit like Fabinho once did, winning his physical battles in the rough and tumble of the Premier League, but one who can also play intelligent passes through the lines to unlock Florian Wirtz.
A player like Lamine Camara.
The Kone option
In truth, there was one standout candidate on the market during the transfer window who thrived in all of these respects last season, with Premier League experience to boot.
That player was Elliot Anderson, and he joined Man City in a £116m move that set the tone for a summer of ludicrous fees. That could well have influenced Liverpool's decision not to enter the central midfielder market, with Enzo Fernandez also joining City for a joint-record £125m and Ayyoub Bouaddi (City, £86m), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham Hotspur, £93m) and Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham, £86m) similarly joining new Premier League clubs for eye-watering sums of money.
Assuming the midfielder economy settles - which is never a safe bet in the world of football - FSG may yet be proved right in their assessment, but Camara was a 'market opportunity' that Liverpool's owners might regret passing up, Chelsea agreeing a fee of £47m on deadline day before the move ultimately collapsed.
Kone - whose price tag is rumoured to be in a similar ballpark - was another option that Ornstein mentioned in his Q&A as "one of [Liverpool's] potential future options", the Frenchman having been first rumoured with a move to Anfield back in 2023 when all three of the Reds' current options joined the club in a large-scale midfield rebuild.
In truth, though, the difference between the two players is vast, both in terms of profile and suitability for Liverpool.
Camara offers more defensive ability and chance creation while Kone is better at carrying the ball but plays safe in possession. Data from Fotmob
Camara offers more defensive ability and chance creation while Kone is better at carrying the ball but plays safe in possession. Data from Fotmob(Image: Morgan King/Fotmob)
View 6 Images
Kone is a very mobile player, similar to Gravenberch in terms of carrying the ball (1.06 successful dribbles per 90 last season, 85th percentile in Serie A), but despite his reputation as a defensive midfielder he actually wins a lower proportion of his duels (50.9%, 57th percentile) than the Dutchman (56.3% last season, 75th percentile in the Premier League) while making fewer interceptions (0.66, 40th percentile) and being dribbled past more often (1.02, 22nd percentile) than any of Liverpool's current options.*
*Statistics for Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are based on the first four games of the current 2026/27 season - Szoboszlai played much of last season in other positions while most of Mac Allister's underlying numbers were lower across the board last season than in any of his other seasons for Liverpool.
Kone is a reliable passer of the ball, completing a higher percentage of his passes (90.4%) than any of Liverpool's current options, but is ahead of only Gravenberch for chances created per 90 (0.92), suggesting he prefers to play it safe rather than to attempt riskier (and potentially more valuable) passes through the lines of play and into the attackers.
Coupled with his difficulties winning the ball back reliably, especially in the final third (0.40 instances of possession won in the final third per 90, fewer than all of Liverpool's options bar Gravenberch), this suggests he could struggle similarly to how the Dutchman has so far if asked to play the ball more quickly through the lines.
Camara, by contrast, is a completely different type of midfielder.
Why is Camara the right fit?
It may seem strange to start off with what looks like a negative, but Camara was dribbled past the same number of times (1.02 per 90, 28th percentile in Ligue 1) as Kone last season.
Unlike Camara, though, Kone's tendency to be dribbled past can't be as easily explained by other things the player does. Whereas Kone attempted 1.79 tackles per 90 in Serie A last season (49th percentile), Camara attempted 2.67 (80th percentile), more than any of Liverpool's current three options bar Mac Allister this season.
While being dribbled past in most games may sound undesirable, the reverse of this can be just as problematic. This is summed up best by Szoboszlai, who has been dribbled past just 0.50 times per 90 this season (76th percentile) precisely because he hasn't been in the right positions to make tackles (1.00, 17th percentile).
Szoboszlai heatmap (Fotmob): The Hungary captain has struggled to adapt to a deeper role for Liverpool so far this season
Szoboszlai heatmap (Fotmob): The Hungary captain has struggled to adapt to a deeper role for Liverpool so far this season(Image: Fotmob)
View 6 Images
As shown by his heatmap, the Hungary captain has been absent from the heart of the midfield battle this season, instead chasing lost causes out wide or running away from his midfield partner into the half-space to try and get on the ball to create a chance.
In previous seasons, this made him one of Liverpool's most influential players, but it deprives this Iraola team of the structure it so desperately needs to be able to counter-press effectively and leaves an unreasonable amount of responsibility on Szoboszlai's partner - usually the less mobile Mac Allister.
Camara heatmap (Fotmob): The Monaco midfielder is a more natural central presence than Szoboszlai and has contributed much more in these areas this season
Camara heatmap (Fotmob): The Monaco midfielder is a more natural central presence than Szoboszlai and has contributed much more in these areas this season(Image: Fotmob)
View 6 Images
By contrast, Camara offers much greater protection at Monaco alongside fellow defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria in a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to Liverpool's, patrolling central areas and therefore pressing opposition players in positions where a turnover is more likely to lead to a chance or sustained possession.
The Senegalese makes more interceptions per 90 (1.80, 92nd percentile), more recoveries (7.68, 92nd percentile) and wins possession in the final third (1.02, 95th percentile) more often than either Kone or any of Liverpool's current options, while also winning more duels (6.56, 91st percentile) at a respectable rate (56.0%, 78th percentile).
These are elite numbers which make Camara a remarkably similar profile to Anderson, at least off the ball. Though the Premier League is several levels above Ligue 1 in terms of physicality, Camara certainly looks like he has the strength to compete and if he could scale up these numbers to match the more fractious nature of English midfield battles, he could quickly establish himself as one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in the league.
But Camara's skill-set does not stop there - far from it. Though he is by no means a regular goalscorer, the 22-year-old is certainly a creative player, and creates chances more regularly (1.70 per 90, 89th percentile) than any of Liverpool's regular midfielders bar Szoboszlai, including 0.39 big chances per 90 (90th percentile).
This shows in Camara's 85.9% pass completion rate (52nd percentile), which is lower than any of Liverpool's midfielders. Far from a cause for concern, though, Liverpool should be looking for midfielders who try to make things happen - provided they have the capability to counter-press and win the ball back if they lose it, which Camara clearly does.
Pleasingly, the Monaco No.8 is also inclined to mostly stay behind the ball, which sounds simple but is one of the key traits the Reds' midfield is missing.
Though his 0.78 successful dribbles per 90 (58th percentile) is higher than both Szoboszlai (0.50) and Mac Allister (0.41), and he wasn't averse to the odd touch in the box last season (1.02 per 90, 31st percentile), his heatmap shows how many of these actually came from exchanging the ball with a teammate or following up a blocked cross at corner routines, with Camara a regular taker for Monaco.
Are there any concerns?
Camara's one main weakness is his aerial ability, the midfielder winning just 40.0% of his aerial duels last season (31st percentile), but this is more than made up for by his ability to cover distances and make defensive interventions on the ground.
Despite clocking a worrying 30.8km/h top speed in the Champions League last season, Camara is actually significantly quicker, maxing out at a much more encouraging 32.3km/h the season prior.
Beyond that, it's nit-picking, really. While Iraola has stressed the usefulness of making fouls in certain situations, 0.29 yellow cards per 90 (22nd percentile) could quickly see Camara become a suspension risk.
In terms of winning fouls, Camara is crafty, winning 2.33 per 90 (93rd percentile), though this can sometimes lead to him being dispossessed when the decision doesn't go his way (1.07, 35th percentile).
On the whole, though, there would be very few concerns about Liverpool making a serious move for Camara in January or next summer, with the Senegalese one of the most promising midfielders in the sport.
In the short term, he would surely be a more suitable partner for Mac Allister than Szoboszlai currently is, while in the longer term, he could bring the best out of the Hungarian or Gravenberch - his defensive coverage allowing his partner to express themselves more freely, particularly if stationed in his preferred position on the right which would prevent Szoboszlai from drifting wide to cross as often.
All told, the links between Liverpool and Lamine Camara are extremely exciting. He could just be Iraola's perfect midfielder - but he might just leave the Reds' decision-makers with regrets that they didn't strike in the summer before his price tag inevitably skyrockets.