The 23-year-old made two substitute appearances for Leeds early in the season before joining Carlisle on an emergency loan in October and playing 11 times for the npower League One club.
A Motherwell statement read: "It was both clubs' understanding that emergency loans do not count when calculating the number of clubs a player has played for.
"However, whilst completing clearance formalities with the Scottish Football Association last night, they highlighted an issue due to the cross-border nature of the transfer and his move from the Elland Road club will now not be allowed to be completed."
Source: PA