Soccer Football - Champions League - Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City - Tehelne pole, Bratislava, Slovakia - October 1, 2024 Manchester City's James McAtee celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/David W Cerny
Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are set to battle for the signature of young Man City forward James McAtee according to Sky Sports.
Sky reports that the two clubs alongside others in the Premier League and Europe are keeping tabs on the England U21 international who has one year left on his contract. McAtee impressed for the young Lions this summer, scoring one goal and providing two assists across six matches as England won the U21 Euros title.
He scored seven goals in 27 appearances for City last season but is reportedly frustrated by his lack of regular first-team minutes. He is understood to be open to leaving the Etihad this summer.
Bayer Leverkusen is another interested party and are expected to advance their interest after selling key man Florian Wirtz to Liverpool. Â
McAtee wanted by several clubs
City reportedly value McAtee above £25m, although they have not publicly placed a figure on him. The club is understood to be using Cole Palmer as a reference point, having sold him for £40m to Chelsea when he was at a similar phase in development to McAtee. Â
Both Man City academy products, McAtee has actually played more first-team games for City than Palmer did before the latter signed for Chelsea. McAtee also has a further year of Premier League experience under his belt after spending the 2023/24 season on loan at Sheffield United.Â
In total, McAtee has 48 Premier League appearances to his name and six in the Champions League. Everton is another Premier League side linked with a move for the player.
With the new arrivals of Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders, McAtee is likely to drop ever lower in the pecking order at City. He is one of several first team names linked with an exit from the Etihad alongside Jack Grealish, Nico Gonzalez, John Stones, and Bernardo Silva.
Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne have already departed City this summer, joining Napoli and Burnley respectively.
About the Author
