Fenerbahce have blamed Al-Ittihad after N'Golo Kante's proposed move to the Turkish giants fell through.

Former Chelsea midfielder Kante seemed set to leave the Saudi Pro League to join Fener on Monday.

The deal involved Fener striker Youssef En-Nesyri going the other way, with Al-Ittihad needing a replacement for Karim Benzema, who has joined Al-Hilal.

Yet the swap deal broke down late on, much to Fener's frustration.

A Fener statement read: "The transfer process involving Al-Ittihad, N'Golo Kante and Youssef En-Nesyri has been meticulously managed by our club in line with our plans and with utmost care in all respects.

"In this process, which proceeded in accordance with the request of our technical staff, agreements have been reached with the players; the health checks of the player to be transferred have been completed, necessary approvals have been obtained, and our club has fulfilled all its obligations in a timely and complete manner.

"The documents regarding the transfer registration have been uploaded to the system correctly and fully within the specified period.

"However, due to the erroneous entry of the relevant information by the opposing club, the procedures could not be completed within the transfer registration period independently of our club.

"Accordingly, an extension was requested, the necessary discussions were conducted with FIFA by our club, and all steps have been taken to resolve the process. Despite this, in the ongoing process, the procedures have not been completed by the opposing club without any justification provided to us.

"As a result of these developments, unfortunately, the said transfer process could not be concluded. We understand and share the disappointment this process has caused in our community.

"Our club continues its squad structuring with the same determination and discipline in line with its sporting goals."

Kante joined Al-Ittihad from Chelsea in 2023. 

The 34-year-old has played 18 times in the league for Al-Ittihad this season, scoring twice. 

He has won 18 tackles, which is a tally bettered by only former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho among his team-mates, while Danilo Pereira (80) is the only Al-Ittihad player who has won more duels than Kante (72).