Most Manchester United supporters would agree that the club need a third midfield signing this summer.
United have already brought in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. Both are solid additions to the centre of the park but to complete their midfield rebuild United probably need an athletic profile, someone who is ultra mobile and tireless.
AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara can be that signing for Michael Carrick this summer.
Camara joined Monaco from Metz in 2024 and has caught the eye with his performances in Ligue 1. He is an all-round mobile midfielder who has the legs to get around the pitch, shield his defence and win back possession.
Across Europe’s top five leagues, he ranks in the 92nd percentile for front-foot defending, 99th percentile for loose ball recovery, and 74th percentile for tackle success, according to data from the Athletic. But Camara is not just a runner. He is also positive on the ball, ranking in the 85th percentile for creative threat and 66th for pass progression.
So he not only wins the ball back, he is also effective at getting it forward to his teammates efficiently.
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As he is coming from Ligue 1, he is also available for a relatively modest fee.
Crystal Palace have in fact made a €50m offer for Camara, but it was turned down and the French club are understood to want at least €60m for the 22-year-old. United would find this amount much more in keeping with their spending policy and they get a runner who can develop at the heart of Carrick’s midfield.
The club do prefer to go for Premier League-proven players, but they showed last summer with Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens that they will go for high-value signings from abroad.
Players like Bernardo Silva and Aurelien Tchouameni moved from Monaco to Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively, the latter in 2022.
It is unclear whether Palace will be making a new bid for Camara. United could move quickly enough to sign the player – they will surely have had him on their watchlist. Liverpool are also reported to be interested, but a defender and a winger might be bigger priorities for them at the moment.
‘One of the best midfielders in the world’
Monaco manager Filipe Luis hopes he can keep Camara, whom he has described as one of the best in the world.
“We discuss the squad every day, the transfer market, what is happening and the offers that arrive,” said the former Chelsea defender. “We want to build a really competitive team. I am very selfish and I want to keep all the players. I do not want anyone to leave.
“I hope we can keep [Camara]. He is probably one of the best midfielders in the world. I do not want to say too much, because I know that many clubs are interested in him. We all want him to stay. He is really important to me.”
