Kante sees Fenerbahce move collapse as FIFA rejects appeal

Kante sees Fenerbahce move collapse as FIFA rejects appeal

Al-Ittihad midfielder N'Golo Kante's move to Fenerbahce fell through on Monday.

The Chelsea legend was all set to return to Europe and sign with Fener after agreeing personal terms earlier in the winter market.

With six months left on his contract, however, Al-Ittihad were insisting on compensation - and had reached a deal with Fener involving striker Youssef En-Nesyri moving in the opposite direction.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the deals for Kant9 to Fenerbah7e and En-Nesyri to Al Ittihad collapsed as the deadline fell last night.

Al-Ittihad were ready to take on En-Nesyri after the sale of Karim Benzema to Al-Hilal.

But after the deadline, FIFA rejected an appeal filed by both clubs, as the agreements were only reached verbally and were never formalised due to documentation issues. Therefore, neither transfer received final approval.

Fener, in an official statement, declared the move failed "due to the incorrect entry of relevant TMS information" supplied by Al Ittihad.

Fener had reached an agreement with Al-Ittihad to sign Kante for €4m, with En-Nesyri to join the Saudis as part of the deal.