Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro has lifted the lid on why Chelsea's last-gasp attempt to sign Lamine Camara on Deadline Day came to nothing — and how a failed medical at Everton briefly brought the deal to life before killing it altogether.

Monaco's firm stance from the start

Throughout the summer, Monaco made their position clear: Camara was not for sale. Despite approaches from what Scuro described as "several clubs," the Ligue 1 side consistently named the midfielder as "our priority." Chelsea were among those probing Monaco's resolve, described by Scuro as "always testing and trying."

That position hardened further until Chelsea sold Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City, which opened a vacancy in their squad and sharpened their interest in Camara considerably.

A window of opportunity — and how it slammed shut

Around 16:00 on Deadline Day, Chelsea contacted Monaco with a direct proposal. "We sold a player in this position. Deal done. Is there any possibility Monaco are open to selling Lamine?" Scuro recalled them asking. His answer, again, was no.

The situation shifted when reports of complications in Folarin Balogun's medical at Everton began to circulate. Monaco, now facing the prospect of Balogun remaining on their books, saw a potential need to raise funds — and Chelsea moved quickly to position themselves as the solution.

"Chelsea called us and said, 'maybe we can be the solution,'" Scuro explained. "At that moment, we had to open the door to discussions." Scuro said he contacted Camara personally, informed his agent, and negotiations over the terms of a potential move began in earnest. Camara even completed a medical in France as Chelsea grew confident a deal was imminent.

Everton's u-turn ends Chelsea's hopes

Then came the decisive twist. Around 20:00, Everton concluded that Balogun's medical had raised no genuine concerns and confirmed they were ready to sign the contract. Monaco immediately contacted Chelsea to inform them the deal for Camara was off.

"As soon as we received that information, we came back to Chelsea and said there was no deal. Because that's also fair. It's part of the game," Scuro said.

Chelsea were left furious, with the club claiming they had received written confirmation from Monaco that the transfer would not proceed. Scuro, however, pushed back firmly against any suggestion that Monaco had acted improperly.

"There is no reason these discussions, which are always dynamic on deadline day, should suddenly make Monaco the bad guys in the room," he said. "Everyone in football is trying to find solutions with the clock ticking. Monaco are not doing anything different."