What began as Monaco’s decision to keep one of their most important midfielders ended with three separate transfers collapsing in a matter of hours.

The extraordinary deadline-day sequence involved Lamine Camara, Folarin Balogun and Erik Lira, with Chelsea, Everton and Monaco all caught up in a rapidly changing chain of events. Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro has since explained how the situation unfolded.

Monaco initially wanted to keep Camara

The first important point is that Camara’s move to Chelsea did not initially collapse because of Balogun.

Chelsea had been pursuing the Monaco midfielder for around 10 days, particularly after selling Enzo Fernández to Manchester City. However, Monaco’s position remained clear: they wanted to keep Camara.

Scuro said the club had spoken to Camara on the morning of deadline day and that the player was happy at Monaco. At that stage, Monaco’s plan was straightforward – sell Balogun, keep Camara and balance their finances.

Then the situation changed.

Balogun’s medical opened the door for Chelsea

Everton had agreed a deal worth around £40 million for Balogun, and the striker travelled to England to complete his medical. During the afternoon, however, Everton raised concerns following the medical. Monaco and Balogun’s own medical team reportedly disagreed with those concerns, creating uncertainty around the transfer.

That uncertainty gave Chelsea an opportunity. With Monaco suddenly facing the possibility of losing the expected Balogun income, Chelsea returned with a fresh push for Camara. Around 8pm, according to Scuro, Monaco opened negotiations and began working towards a deal for the midfielder.

Everton revived Balogun – and Monaco pulled Camara

The next twist came when Everton and Monaco managed to renegotiate the Balogun deal. With the striker transfer back on, Monaco decided to prioritise Balogun’s sale and abandon the Camara negotiations with Chelsea. Chelsea were informed that the Camara deal was no longer going ahead.

But then came the final twist.

Balogun changed his mind

Despite Monaco and Everton completing the necessary paperwork and a deal sheet being submitted before the deadline, Balogun ultimately decided against joining Everton.

According to Scuro, Balogun was uncomfortable with the way Everton’s medical concerns had been handled and did not feel comfortable signing a long-term contract after doubts had been raised about his health.

That meant Monaco lost both expected transfers – Balogun to Everton and Camara to Chelsea.

Erik Lira was caught in the fallout

The consequences extended further. Monaco had also been working on a deal for Mexican midfielder Erik Lira, who had reportedly completed his medical.

However, Monaco needed to create space within their non-EU player quota. With Balogun staying, that squad-planning equation changed, and Lira’s proposed move to Monaco subsequently collapsed.

The Mexican was desperate to play in Europe, but will have to continue with Cruz Azul at least till the end of this calendar year.