From Kanté to Nsiri: Al-Ittihad's winter transfer shuffle

Kanté exits and Nsiri signs

The Saudi club Al-Ittihad confirmed the departure of its French midfielder N'Golo Kanté to Turkish side Fenerbahçe and the signing of Moroccan forward Yusuf Nsiri.

The club posted on its official X account a statement saying it agreed to sell the remaining term of Kanté's contract, wishing him success in his future career.

Kanté had joined Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023, delivering standout performances that helped the team clinch the Saudi Pro League title and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup last season.

Moments after the departure was announced, Al-Ittihad released a video announcing the arrival of Nsiri from Fenerbahçe.

Nsiri will be the new forward for the western club in the second half of the season, following Karim Benzema's move to rivals Al Hilal in the previous winter window.

According to journalist Santi Ona, Nsiri terminated his contract with Fenerbahçe to enable the move to Al-Ittihad, after the deal stalled in the final hours of the winter transfer window.

Fenerbahçe issued a statement claiming that Al-Ittihad erred in procedures to complete the deal during the closing hours, before reports indicated the two clubs reached a legal solution to finalize it.

Punchline 1: If transfers were a sniper’s game, Kanté exited with perfect timing and Nsiri is lining up the headshots in the box. Punchline 2: The window closed, but the drama just kept a tight suppression fire—let’s see if the goalposts survive the rain of assists.