This is a somewhat similar situation to one of my last jobs.

I was long overdue a department transfer. I requested it during a performance review. My boss told me he needed me in my current department, but would keep me in mind if an opportunity came up.

He pulled me into a meeting and told me he was going to transfer me to my desired department.

It was taking a while, so I kept asking. My boss kept giving me the same answer: “I’m still getting things ready”.

9 months went by before I finally got moved. This department tranfer nonsense was the tip of the iceberg of my boss’ BS. I was so frustrated that 1 week later, I handed in my two weeks notice.