Monaco’s Lamine Camara passes Anfield audition as Liverpool eye transfer hijack
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Lamine Camara served up a performance which showed Liverpool supporters what they are missing in their midfield during Sunday’s friendly defeat against Monaco.The Reds have been linked with a move for Camara all summer, and, as French outlet Footmercato reported on Saturday, the chase is now getting towards the business end.Crystal Palace are claimed to have made a concrete offer to sign the midfielder, while Nottingham Forest are also said to be preparing to make a move themselves. Liverpool should reportedly not be counted out, however, with the Reds supposedly monitoring the situation and pondering whether to swoop in.
Nothing looks to have changed from last season 😒 Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC If they were undecided ahead of Sunday’s match, then Camara’s performance at Anfield should have tipped the balance.Faced with what will likely be Liverpool’s starting midfield two this season in Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, the 22-year-old held his own to show why he is the midfield piece which is missing for Andoni Iraola.Camara can add some steel to LiverpoolLiverpool were without Curtis Jones on Sunday, and though the Scouser is officially said to have had a slight hip problem, it would not be a surprise if his proposed move to Inter Milan moved forwards in the coming days.The Reds have players who can feature instead of Jones, with Alexis Mac Allister still yet to come back and Trey Nyoni excelling in pre-season.READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings vs Monaco as Reds throw away Andoni Iraola’s debut at AnfieldNevertheless, Jones’ absence showed that he certainly will need replacing if he is sold in what remains of the summer window.Conversely, Camara showed that he could be the man to do it. Having registered a 91% passing success rate, and – more importantly – tallied up five defensive contributions, the Senegal international demonstrated the anchoring qualities he could bring to Liverpool’s midfield.Two ground duels won out of three attempted was also a good takeaway statistic, and Camara certainly was not overawed by the task ahead of him at Anfield.Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty ImagesOf course, it is important not to read too much into friendly performances, either for Liverpool or against them.However, this was supporters’ first chance to get a look at Camara after links emerged at the back end of last season.Still only 22, the former Metz player still has his best years ahead of him, and is seemingly available for around £35-40m this summer.Letting him go to Palace would be a bad move from Liverpool.
They have now seen up close the potential Camara has, and exactly how he could slot into their midfield. 17 is to leave, the Reds have surely just seen his replacement.