Former defender and scout Gilles Grimandi has named Lamine Camara, AS Monaco’s Senegalese midfielder, as the “best player in France”. The 22-year-old is in the squad to face Freiburg on Thursday.
Former defender and scout Gilles Grimandi, linked with Arsenal and AS Monaco, said in comments reported by Goal.com that in his eyes Lamine Camara was the “best player in France”. A strong statement, as the 22-year-old Senegalese midfielder plays for Monaco.
The statement comes ahead of the visit of SC Freiburg in the Conference League, this Thursday 22 October at 21:00 at the Stade Louis-II. The Senegal international is in the official squad published by AS Monaco.
Grimandi surprised to see him in Ligue 1
Gilles Grimandi’s surprise is less about Camara’s level than about his current league. The former scout says he is very surprised to see the 22-year-old midfielder still playing in Ligue 1, and predicts an imminent move to a Premier League heavyweight, Goal.com reports. This is the view of a scout, not market information.
Because last summer, the deal almost went through. According to La Diagonale, Lamine Camara almost joined Chelsea in the final hours of the summer transfer window, before AS Monaco blocked the move.
Numbers to his name
Since the start of the season, Lamine Camara has played 630 minutes of Ligue 1 in the Monaco shirt, with one assist to his name, according to FotMob. The same platform gives him an average statistical rating of 7.97 since the start of the season.
His market value is now estimated at €55 million by Transfermarkt. An U20 Africa Cup of Nations champion and CHAN winner, the midfielder plays under Filipe Luís, AS Monaco’s head coach.
Monaco host Freiburg with two absentees
For the second matchday of the Conference League, Monaco host Freiburg at the Stade Louis-II without English defender Eric Dier (thigh) or Stanis Idumbo (psoas), both ruled out according to the club’s official website. Filipe Luís included Camara in the squad published this Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether the Senegalese will start, as BeFoot expects, alongside Switzerland’s Denis Zakaria.