Newcastle continue to be linked with a move for the Monaco midfielder this summer
Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara celebrates scoring his team's first goal against RC Strasbourg
Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara celebrates scoring his team's first goal against RC Strasbourg(Image: AFP or licensors)
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Newcastle United's sale of Anthony Gordon to Barcelona on Friday evening kickstarted a summer transfer window which is expected to be very busy - both in terms of incomings and outgoings at St James' Park.
The Magpies are expected to be in the market for a goalkeeper, right-back, midfielder and a winger, with a left-back and a forward ideally on the list, too.
Lamine Camara's name is high up on their list of potential new midfielders after two impressive years with AS Monaco after joining from Metz in 2024.
Camara made a name for himself in the principality before even joining the club when he scored an audacious goal from his own half past now team-mate Philipp Kohn.
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But it is another goal he scored recently for his current side which will most appeal to Newcastle United fans - and particularly Eddie Howe.
In Monaco's penultimate match of the season, Camara scored twice in a 5-4 defeat to Strasbourg. The 22-year-old opened the scoring in the game with a slide tackle while pressing Strasbourg’s defender inside their penalty area.
A slack pass from goalkeeper Mike Penders was latched upon by Camara, whose intensity in the challenge resulted in a goal directly from it.
While Camara has been described to Chronicle Live as a box to box midfielder and a set-piece specialist, that scruffy side to the game is not alien to the Senegal international either.
In an interview with the Guardian earlier this season, Camara cited Real Madrid's Federico Valverde as an inspiration. "I really admire Fede Valverde. He gives everything he has, works for the team and isn’t there for individual stats."
That answer will be music to the ears of Newcastle's recruitment team, who have watched him extensively in Ligue 1 this summer. Camara will be part of the Senegal squad at this summer's World Cup but knows he has the Magpies and Liverpool among his potential suitors this summer.
A €50million (£43m) price tag has been suggested as a figure needed to prise him away from the Stade Louis II but he has already admitted he keeps a clean eye on the Premier League.
"For now, I am really happy at Monaco," Camara said in the same interview with the Guardian back in December.
"I feel really at ease here: the players are kind and ambitious, and I have a manager who trusts me. I follow the Premier League a lot – everyone does. I’m not thinking about changing clubs but we will see what happens at the end of the season."
Newcastle have been playing with two midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation in recent weeks, having previously utilised a 4-3-3 system. If that is the formation they will go with next season, it leaves a natural gap in the squad.
Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali - should he stay at the club - would form a formidable pairing while a two-man midfield will complement Lewis Miley's attributes, too.
Jacob Ramsey and Joelinton would likely be moved further forward and Joe Willock could be sold this summer amid interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
There is a void to be filled and Camara feels like a natural fit. His situation is certainly one to keep an eye on this summer.