French media left in awe of ‘remarkable’ Lamine Camara as Chelsea target shines v Marseille

Lamine Camara and Moises Caicedo are VERY similar midfielders…

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Monaco won their first Ligue 1 match of the season, a 1-0 away win over Le Havre. But on Sunday, they faced a much tougher task, facing a Marseille side expected to battle for the Champions League places.

But a goal in each half saw Monaco cruise to a 2-0 win. Camara, 22, lasted the entire match and starred for Luis’ side, amid reports that Chelsea and Monaco are close to agreeing a deal for the Senegal star.

Camara will have gone into the match knowing that he had a whole lot more people watching how he got on. Chelsea fans, in their abundance, will have been watching Camara sparkle in a red and white shirt.

The midfielder was sensational. He dictated the tempo, he started attacks, and he won the ball back on regular occasions. Filipe Luis says he is “one of the best in the world” and on Sunday, he proved just that.

Foot Mercato gave Camara an 8/10: “He is at the heart of every build-up play, the link between defence and attack. Short passes, long passes: he directs the game with remarkable precision and composure.

“He doesn’t hesitate to carry the ball, sometimes in risky situations, but almost always escapes Marseille’s pressure. Very intelligent in his positioning, he regularly drops back between his two center-backs.

“His contribution is just as important off the ball, as he covers a huge amount of ground and sweeps up with eight recoveries. A complete and masterful performance at the heart of Monaco’s midfield.”

Lamine Camara’s stats during Monaco’s win against Marseille

If Chelsea scouts were watching, they would have been constantly ringing Chelsea’s hierarchy to get a deal done. It was, as the French say, a masterful display. Near-perfect from the 37-time Senegal star.

FotMob gave him a joint-second rating of 8.2. No player won more duels on the night (9), joint-third for defensive contributions (8), more tackles than anyone (4) and more interceptions than any other (4).

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On the ball, he completed 94% of his passes (50/53), dribbled the ball successfully on two occasions and played the ball into the final third on eight occasions. At both ends, Camara was perfect for Monaco.

He might not be the exact replica of Enzo Fernandez; he certainly lacks the attacking quality of the World Cup winner. But Camara is the perfect old-school central midfielder; he is able to do a bit of everything.