The Morocco international remains a wanted man at Rennes, who are keen to avoid a second defensive departure this summer having already sold Jeremy Jacquet to Liverpool, and Fulham's interest has cooled to the point where a fresh bid looks unlikely as manager Alvaro Arbeloa assesses other options before the Premier League season begins.
The defensive vacancy stems from Issa Diop's move to newly promoted Ipswich last month; Fulham had also considered Trabzonspor centre-back Chibuike Nwaiwu and looked at Charlie Cresswell before the England Under-21 international opted to join Rennes from Toulouse instead earlier this week, reports the London Evening Standard.
Ait Boudlal, who stands at 6ft 3in and joined Rennes from Morocco's Mohammed VI academy in 2024, made 20 Ligue 1 appearances last season, including 17 starts, and captained Morocco at the Under-17 World Cup. He has also previously spent time on loan at Amiens in Ligue 2, and is contracted to Rennes until 2028, giving the French club little incentive to lower their asking price.
Elsewhere in the squad, Fulham's summer spending has been more productive: César Palacios and Gonzalo García arrived from Real Madrid for a combined £42.5m, and terms are all but agreed for Southampton's Shea Charles.
Diop's move to Ipswich left a gap at the heart of Fulham's defence that Arbeloa has been keen to address early in the window, but the club's willingness to walk away from the Ait Boudlal deal suggests they are unwilling to significantly overpay for a player still developing at first-team level.
With the transfer window running for several more weeks, further centre-back options are expected to be assessed before Fulham's Premier League campaign gets under way.