Manchester City are set for a busy January, and one player who could well be on the move is James McAtee.
It’s been a quiet season so far for McAtee following his promotion to the first-team squad ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The youngster has been handed just seven appearances across all competitions so far, and just one minute in the Premier League.
His lack of involvement as confused some City fans, who believe he should have had more opportunities. Especially given the team’s struggles over the last month or so.
As a result, speculation has been picking up over McAtee. West Ham United and Crystal Palace are both ‘desperate’ for talks over McAtee, with a view to a January transfer. West Ham are said to see McAtee as a potential long-term replacement for Lucas Paqueta.
Manchester City News can confirm the strong interest of these clubs, and there are a few others in the mix from the English top-flight.
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Manchester City News can confirm that McAtee’s future at the Etihad Stadium is up in the air, with the player having just 18 months left on his contract. Sources tell us that a new contract for the player is not currently close
We understand that there are up to six British clubs who have contacted City in recent weeks to enquire about his potential availability in January and beyond.
Crystal Palace and West Ham are indeed both keen. But there’s also interest from Everton and Brentford.
Celtic and Rangers have also expressed interest, while clubs from overseas also have an eye on the situation, with Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta and Marseille all lurking.
McAtee is a player Pep Guardiola has spoken highly of this season.
But the Manchester City manager has seemed reluctant to get him more involved this term, and could now be ready to sanction the youngster’s exit.
Man City must seek to negotiate clauses in any McAtee sale
City have seen how well Cole Palmer has done at Chelsea since he left the club, and it’ll be really important that the club negotiate some clauses in any sale of McAtee.
The Palmer sale was a rare instance of City not negotiating any buy-back or sell-on clauses.
But the club tend to do it with most players they offload, and McAtee – who’s been branded ‘special’ by Guardiola in the past – should be a player they look to try and benefit from in the future.
Least used Man City players this season (minutes played)
Rodri – 156
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 217
Nico O’Reilly – 235
James McAtee – 332
Nathan Ake – 482
It would be a real shame to see him depart the club.
But it’s definitely a real possibility at this point because there have been plenty of opportunities for him to play more this season, and he remains one of the least-used players in the squad.
He’ll be thinking about moving on, and he is not short of options.
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