The 22-year-old Senegal international was flying into London to complete a medical on a six-year contract when Monaco reneged, refusing to sign the deal sheet before the 11pm deadline on Tuesday.

Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol relayed Chelsea’s response from within the club.

“Chelsea feel Monaco have acted in a deeply unprofessional way after calling off the Lamine Camara deal,” Solhekol reported.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein separately confirmed a full club-to-club agreement had been finalised in writing before Monaco pulled out.

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Balogun’s Everton rescue triggered the collapse

The chain reaction began with Folarin Balogun. The United States international’s proposed move from Monaco to Everton had been in serious difficulty earlier in the day, which pushed Monaco to accept Chelsea’s £47m bid for Camara to plug the hole in their cash flow.

When Everton returned with renegotiated terms and the Balogun transfer looked back on, Monaco decided a second sale was no longer necessary and abandoned the Camara agreement, despite what Chelsea maintain was a binding written deal.

With the window shut, there is no realistic route to reviving the transfer, Sky Sports reported.

Chelsea left short after Fernandez departure

The collapse blows a hole in Chelsea’s midfield. Enzo Fernandez completed a £125m move to Manchester City on the same day, a fee that equalled the joint-British transfer record, and Camara had been lined up as his direct successor.

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Late enquiries for Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Roma’s Manu Koné produced nothing before the deadline. Camara stays at the Stade Louis-II for the season. Balogun’s Everton move also fell through in the closing minutes, leaving him at Monaco too.

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