Chelsea and Liverpool line up for Lamine Camara in January
Your club tried for Lamine Camara on deadline day and lost the race at the last moment. It is back on for January. Chelsea and Liverpool are set for a winter duel over the Monaco midfielder, with the 22-year-old described as already seeing himself in blue before the summer move fell apart (1).
Xabi Alonso wants a successor to Enzo Fernández in the middle, and Camara is the name on the list (1).
Reece James is out, and Alonso is not worried
Reece James had a minor knee operation and is unlikely to play before the turn of the year (3). Your captain, your right-back, gone until then.
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Alonso was asked whether it changes the January plan. "No, I don't think so, because we expect him to be back for that time."
Koné again, but Roma have moved the price
Chelsea will reopen talks for Manu Koné in January, and Roma now want €100m (2). Liverpool are circling there too. Jamie Gittens could go the other way in a deal (2).
Roma's Tony D'Amico pushed back on the summer version of this story: "Manu Koné n'a jamais été proche de rejoindre Chelsea. Il n'y a même pas eu d'offre officielle" (2).
Banjaqui, 18, is the right-back answer
Chelsea are looking at Benfica right-back Daniel Banjaqui, 18, who has a £38m release clause, after the James news (3). Arsenal and Liverpool are in that conversation as well (3).
Yassine close, Albert waits
Morocco winger Guéssime Yassine, 20, is reportedly close to a move from Strasbourg, though nothing is officially confirmed (4). Separately, Chelsea hold a long-standing interest in Dortmund's Mathis Albert, with €20m floated, but no Premier League move can happen until he turns 18 in May (5) (6).
Jules Kounde is the other name on the list: Chelsea are among the clubs monitoring his Barcelona future (7).
Everton away, Tottenham next Saturday
Everton away on Saturday at 13:30 CEST, then Tottenham at home on Saturday October 24 at 18:30 CEST. You go in sixth on 10 points from six games, and the 5–1 win over Bournemouth last time out is the only result in the last five you want to remember.
Fan reactions
The subreddit is mostly about Alonso's press conference. Fans picked up his line about "a good mix of personalities" in the leadership group and his flat "Who said that?" when Enzo Maresca's old comments on Reece James came up. The other thread doing numbers is James himself, with Alonso insisting he will be back in time for the January window. Join the thread
