If Leeds United opt to sign a new No 10 in the January transfer window, it looks increasingly unlikely to be James McAtee. The Manchester City starlet is reportedly attracting interest from German club Bayer Leverkusen.
McAtee, among several attacking options the Whites explored in the summer transfer window, could be allowed to leave the reigning Premier League champions in the New Year. But a loan move to a Championship club does not appear to be on the cards.
A report in TBR Football suggests City may be "willing" to offload the attacking midfielder as part of a swap deal for Leverkusen’s £87million-rated youngster Florian Wirtz. The Bundesliga outfit are also thought to be big admirers of McAtee's Man City teammate Oscar Bobb. Premier League sides West Ham United and Crystal Palace have also been strongly linked with McAtee in recent weeks.
The 22-year-old has featured just twice in the Premier League this season since returning from a loan spell with Sheffield United. McAtee stepped off the bench against Ipswich Town back in August and made a cameo appearance as a substitute at home to Nottingham Forest last week.
Since losing the services of Georginio Rutter in mid-August, United boss Daniel Farke has deployed Brenden Aaronson in behind the number nine this season. Aaronson's erratic performances following his return from a season-long loan at Union Berlin, though, remain a topic of conversation among the Whites fan-base.
Although Farke has predicted a quiet window, it would be no big surprise to see them strengthen their attacking options going into the second half of the season.