Manchester City's James McAtee opted for the Under-21 European Championship over the Club World Cup and England are in the final
James McAtee celebrates scoring for England Under-21s
James McAtee
Manchester City's victory over Juventus threw them emphatically into the ring as a contender to win the Club World Cup. With tens of thousands already supporting them in the United States, their performance in Orlando was a major sign that they could win a trophy in two weeks.
Four thousand miles from the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is Slovakia's national stadium in Bratislava. James McAtee knows it well, having scored there for City in the Champions League last season, and could be lifting silverware there on Saturday if all goes to plan.
McAtee had a frustrating season with a particularly frustrating end at the Etihad. Having been convinced by Pep Guardiola that this was his shot to make it in the first team after two seasons away on loan, he then had to sit and watch as City's form dived and the manager kept turning to players who were struggling.
City's manager would later speak with regret about not giving McAtee and Nico O'Reilly more opportunities earlier in the season, but he then went and left McAtee out of the entire squad for the FA Cup Final and made it sound like he was abandoning ship for wanting to captain his country at the Under-21 European Championship this summer rather than play a bit-part role in the United States.
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Once the decision was made to allow him to go, the unsaid part of the agreement is that McAtee's time at City is almost certainly up. His window of opportunity has closed and the rest of the summer will be spent trying to secure a move.
There are few better platforms to seal a move though than the final of the Under-21 Euros. It is a game that induces a scouting frenzy as top clubs from all over Europe look to get the next big talents coming into the game.
Some of England's talent have already been bought up before the tournament - Liam Delap and Jobe Bellingham both pulled out of the squad to head to the Club World Cup with their new clubs - and more of it will be on show on Sunday against Germany. Alongside McAtee, Liverpool's Harvey Elliott will be hoping to catch the eye again and show prospective buyers what he can bring.
As he prepares to lead his country out in a major youth tournament, McAtee can already feel happy with the decision he has made. Winning the trophy would be the silver cherry on the cake for that.
Of more importance for next season though is securing a good move so that he can play at a high level in Europe on a weekly basis. He has been interested in the Bundesliga after approaches from a number of clubs, while there has also been concrete interest from Premier League sides.
As those in the United States would do well to turn one eye to Saturday's final, there will be lots watching to try to anticipate what comes next for those starring in it.
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