Fenerbahçe announced in an official statement the collapse of the swap deal with Al-Ittihad, which would have seen Youssef En-Nesyri move to the Saudi club in exchange for N’Golo Kanté joining the Turkish club.
The two clubs finalized the agreement in the final hours of the winter transfer window, but failed to register the players within the FIFA deadline.
Things seemed promising after FIFA granted both clubs an extension to complete the necessary paperwork for the deal, but Al-Ittihad failed to do so, according to Fenerbahçe’s statement.
The Turkish club wrote, “Due to the opposing club entering incorrect information into the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the transfers could not be completed during the registration period, regardless of our club. Therefore, we requested an extension, held the necessary discussions with FIFA, and took all steps to resolve the issue. Despite this, the opposing club failed to complete the transfers without providing any justification.”
According to Al-Riyadh newspaper, Al-Ittihad is working to find a solution to the current crisis in order to sign Youssef En-Nesyri. As for N’Golo Kanté, his chances of completing his transfer to Fenerbahçe are also high, especially since the winter transfer window in Turkey remains open until February 6th.
It’s worth noting that En-Nesyri was expected to be the primary replacement for Karim Benzema, who left for Al-Ittihad. However, even if the deal falls through, the club managed to sign another striker before the end of the transfer window: the promising 19-year-old George Ellienkina, who arrived from AS Monaco.
