Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. Chelsea have agreed a £47.1m deal to sign Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. The 22-year-old is set to undergo a medical after Chelsea complete the sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City in a deal that matched the £125m British transfer record.

Chelsea had been reluctant to complete a transfer for Monaco's asking price but they are believed to have dropped their demands when striker Folarin Balogun's move to Everton from the French club came into renewed doubt.

It was expected the Blues would continue with their current midfielder options despite sanctioning Fernandez's exit but an opportunity to sign one of their primary targets at a lower price was taken up. They had also held talks with Roma's Manu Kone and another unnamed Premier League option.

The signing is not viewed as a like-for-like replacement for Fernandez, with Camara offering a different profile in midfield. However, Chelsea believe the deal will help maintain the strength of new manager Xabi Alonso's squad.

One of the club's aims this summer was to emerge from the transfer window with a stronger squad despite selling Fernandez to a direct rival. Chelsea believe they have achieved that after signing Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa in a club-record £117m deal, centre-back Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace and, most recently, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa.

The club have also recruited strikers Emmanuel Emegha and Danny Welbeck, winger Geovany Quenda, midfielders Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco, as well as full-backs Marco Palestra and Pep Chavarria.

Alonso's side have won all three of their matches this season, beating Fulham and Brighton in the Premier League, and have also reached the third round of the Carabao Cup with victory over Luton Town.

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