Liverpool's Search for a Defensive Midfielder: Lamine Camara in Focus

Liverpool’s transfer business is not done yet. Not by the sound of it.

Despite closing in on a huge £120m package to prise Bradley Barcola from PSG, the club are still actively scouring the market for a midfielder, according to a well-placed source on X. And one name keeps coming back: Lamine Camara of Monaco.

This is not a luxury search. It’s a structural one.

A title-winning midfield with a flaw

Liverpool’s 2024/25 title-winning side leaned heavily on the energy and attacking thrust of Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch. They drove games, broke lines, and flooded the final third. They also left space.

The 2-2 draw with Newcastle at the weekend underlined the issue. When the game became stretched, Liverpool’s midfield looked exposed, too open between the lines and too easy to play through. It wasn’t a one-off warning; it felt like a glimpse of what could go wrong if balance isn’t addressed.

So while the Barcola deal would hand Andoni Iraola a frightening array of attacking options, the question lingers: can Liverpool really afford to walk into the new season without adding a more naturally defensive presence in midfield?

Camara on the radar

That’s where Camara comes in.

Liverpool are understood to admire the Monaco midfielder, who has built a reputation in Ligue 1 as a player who relishes defensive work but doesn’t surrender quality on the ball to do it. At 22, he already looks like a modern holding midfielder: aggressive in duels, sharp in reading danger, but comfortable progressing play.

The numbers from his 2025/26 Ligue 1 campaign, as highlighted by Fotmob, back that up. He breaks up attacks, but he doesn’t just give the ball straight back. He can pass, carry, and keep his team on the front foot. For a side that wants to press high and play with ambition, that blend matters.

If Liverpool are indeed intent on finding a midfielder with natural defensive instincts who can still operate in possession, they could do far worse than Camara.

The squeeze on squad planning

There is, however, a catch. Recent reporting suggests Liverpool will only make a maximum of two further signings this summer. With Barcola already close, that leaves room for just one more move.

So the dilemma is stark: do you give Iraola the complete forward line he craves and trust the current midfield group to hold, or do you sacrifice one attacking option to secure a specialist who can shield the defence and knit play from deep?

Given the way the Newcastle game unfolded, that doesn’t feel like a theoretical debate anymore.

The price of protection

Monaco are in no rush to sell. According to the BBC, they have already turned down a £35m bid from Crystal Palace for Camara. Other reports put the French club’s valuation somewhere between £42.8m and £51.4m.

That is not small money for a player who would arrive into a crowded midfield department, but it’s also not out of step with the current market for a 22-year-old with his profile and upside.

Liverpool have been firm on their midfield stance so far this window. The risk is obvious: hold the line too long, and the price of fixing that gap later could soar well beyond the £50m bracket being talked about now.

The club know what Barcola would bring. The bigger question is whether they are prepared to pay what it takes to give that new-look attack the platform it needs behind it.