Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel's move to Juventus has just been "postponed," according to the Serie A club's general manager Beppe Marotta.
Witsel, 27, was on the brink of joining the Bianconeri on transfer deadline day, only for Zenit to veto the deal as they had failed to find an adequate replacement.
The Belgium international had spent the day in Turin, having already passed a medical, and was waiting for the transfer to be finalised when it fell through.
However, Witsel will still become a Juve player in the future, Marotta has said.
"It was an opportunity and we did the medical, with Zenit's authorisation, but then the deal wasn't concluded because they didn't wrap up another deal to replace him," Marotta told Juventus' TV channel Jtv. "Let's say it's been postponed. He wanted to play for us and this is important."
Witsel's contract with Zenit expires next summer, when he will be free to join Juve without commanding a transfer fee, although the Serie A champions may make a bid again in the January transfer window.
Marotta had been trying to bring Witsel in to fill the gap left by the departure of Paul Pogba to Manchester United -- a move he says had never been on the agenda until the midfielder said he wanted to leave.
"A player's destiny is in his own mind and we would never have sold him because he was important to the club, the team and the fans," Marotta said.
"He just wanted a change of scenery and that's when it becomes difficult to keep hold of somebody. We accommodated his wishes, opening up negotiations with Manchester United."
Juve still brought in players including Gonzalo Higuain, Dani Alves and Miralem Pjanic, and Marotta declared himself happy with the club's summer transfer business.
"It's certainly been a satisfying transfer window for us," he said. "We're very satisfied for realising many of the objectives we had set."