Lamine Camara will remain at Monaco after his proposed £47.1m move to Chelsea collapsed after the transfer deadline.
The 22-year-old Senegal midfielder completed a medical in France on Tuesday evening, but Chelsea’s move fell through shortly after the 23:00 BST deadline.
Chelsea had already seen two bids rejected by Monaco before the Ligue 1 club lowered their asking price when Folarin Balogun’s proposed move to Everton came into renewed doubt.
Chelsea were confident the deal for Camara would be completed and had already sanctioned Enzo Fernandez’s joint-British record £125m transfer to Manchester City in anticipation of the Senegal international arriving.
However, Chelsea were left furious after being informed in writing by Monaco that the deal for Camara would not go ahead.
The Premier League club say they were given no explanation for the decision, although sources suggest that they believe Monaco’s stance was influenced by Everton’s proposed move for United States international Balogun.
Chelsea left stunned
Chelsea had initially struggled to reach an agreement with Monaco for Camara, but made progress when reports emerged that Balogun’s move to Everton was in doubt.
Sources in France had claimed Monaco needed to make a major sale this summer and preferred to cash in on Balogun.
Camara played in Monaco’s 2-0 win over Marseille on Sunday, while Balogun was left out of the squad.
However, as doubts grew over Balogun’s proposed move to Everton, Monaco’s asking price for Camara appeared to fall, allowing Chelsea to agree a deal worth around £47m.
Once Balogun’s transfer appeared to be back on track, Monaco appeared to change their position and decided against allowing Camara to leave.
