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Mohamed Camara set to move for fee far lower than failed Leeds United offer
Leeds United midfield target Mohamed Camara is set to move to Monaco after they agreed a fee with Red Bull Salzburg, Sebastien Denis reports.
The Malian international looked like he was set to join Red Bull players Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen at Elland Road earlier in the window, as another arrived in the form of Tyler Adams.
According to Denis, the Whites failed with a bid of €25million [£21.1million] but the 22-year-old is now set to move to Ligue 1 for just €15million [£12.6million].
The FootMercato editor-in-chief wrote on his personal Twitter account on Saturday evening (13 August): “Monaco and Salzburg agree on the transfer. The Malian midfielder will cost ASM 15 M €.
“A superb operation, especially since Leeds had unsuccessfully offered 25 M € at the start of the transfer window.”
In the accompanying story on the FootMercato website, the international, who is compared to tireless Chelsea star N’Golo Kante in his playing style, is due to sign a long-term deal within hours.
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Denis writes: “ASM will achieve a masterstroke by recruiting him for an amount defying all competition for a player of this quality.”
Undercut
This will be of no comfort at all to the Whites hierarchy who saw the talks breakdown in early July after Camara had made it quite obvious he wanted to come to the Premier League, around the same time that Adams did sign.
While the American hasn’t looked too bad so far in a United shirt, for all that fellow midfield arrival Marc Roca has offered in the opening two Premier League games fans would likely have loved to see Camara there instead.
If he is anything at all like Kante then he could have probably helped prevent the club throwing away a two-goal lead at Southampton earlier on Saturday.
Quite how Monaco have convinced Salzburg to accept an offer €10million less than the bid from Elland Road when the larger one wasn’t successful is hard to fathom.
Unless it is something to do with payment structures it makes almost no sense, and even then it is a significant shortfall to agree to just for that.
Time will tell how much of a disappointment it will be to have missed out on Camara, but the latest development is certainly hard to swallow for the Whites.
In other Leeds United news, the BT pundits clashed over a controversial incident in the draw at St Mary’s.