Chelsea and Monaco have been involved in a transfer row after the Premier League club's attempts to sign Lamine Camara and Folarin Balogun fell through.
The clubs had played with fire and got burned, with all parties losing out in the late-night transfer drama. Camara, a 22-year-old Senegalese international midfielder, had been a target for Chelsea as they prepared for the £125m sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City. However, Monaco were adamant he was going nowhere for the fee Chelsea were willing to pay.
Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro said, "I've been speaking to them for the last 10 days," and "At around 16:00 BST yesterday we got contact from Chelsea. The answer was the same: no." The Ligue 1 club had allowed Balogun, 25, to fly to Merseyside to complete a £40m move to Everton, but issues with his medical saw the door open again for Chelsea at the £47m price point they had previously offered.