Chelsea's proposed €55 million ($64m / £47m) deal for Lamine Camara has collapsed after Monaco pulled out of the deal at the last minute on Tuesday, sources told ESPN.
The Blues had a full agreement to sign the 22-year-old after having a €45 million offer rejected earlier on transfer deadline day.
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However, sources say Monaco reneged on the transfer after renegotiating Folarin Balogun's move to Everton, which had appeared to be off earlier in the day.
Monaco were unwilling to allow both players to depart and have opted not to proceed with Camara's deal, with sources telling ESPN that Chelsea have been left deeply unimpressed by the Ligue 1 club's stance.
Sources added that the Blues still had the opportunity to pull the plug on Enzo Fernández's £125 million ($169m) transfer to Manchester City but chose to honour the agreement.
It is unclear whether the paperwork on Balogun's proposed move to Everton has been completed in time but either way, Chelsea are now left with Moisés Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson and Valentín Barco as their midfield options in addition to defender Reece James, who played in midfield during Sunday's 4-3 win over Brighton.
Camara, 22, registered three goals and four assists in 31 games across all competitions for Monaco last season before featuring for Senegal at this summer's World Cup.
