The England Under-21 international was a top target for Celtic and Rangers last summer
Former Celtic and Rangers-linked midfielder James McAtee is believed to be the subject of a huge transfer tug of war involving as many as five different German club, according to reports from Times Sport.
McAtee, who captained England’s Under-21 team to glory at the European Championship in Slovakia, is expected to leave Manchester City on a permanent basis after a 12-year association with the club which started when he was just 11-years-old.
The 22-year-old playmaker has made a combined total of 34 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, with 27 of those notably coming last season as City limped to a disappointing third place finish after four successive Premier League title triumphs.
McAtee, who registered seven goals over the course of the campaign, including a hat-trick against Salford in an 8-0 FA Cup win, was once described by Guardiola as someone he didn’t want to sell or loan due his ability to play in tight spaces.
However, following a big summer of spending and the arrival of Rayan Cherki among others, it’s expected that McAtee will be made available to leave on a permanent basis.
James McAtee was wanted by Celtic and Rangers last summer
Glasgow Worldreported back in August that both Celtic and Rangers wanted to bring James McAtee to Scotland in what proved to be a heated but ultimately unsuccessful transfer battle for both clubs.
Our reports referenced information from The Athletic which added that numerous approaches had been made to sign the youngster, who had been earning a reported salary of around £15,000 per week in 2024.
McAtee’s 26 goals and 16 assists in 46 appearances at Premier League 2 level were believed to be a huge factor in both Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and former Rangers boss Philippe Clement’s interest in him at the time.
Celtic viewed McAtee as a possible successor to Matt O’Riley after his sale to Brighton while Rangers identified McAtee as someone that could thrive in a similar way to Malik Tillman in 2022/23 after his loan move from Bayern Munich.
What next for James McAtee?
James McAtee has ambitions of breaking into the senior England setup after a stellar campaign at Under-21 level but knows he’ll need regular football to achieve that goal in the next 12 months.He’ll hope to replicate the success of Cole Palmer, who has been a revelation at Chelsea since leaving his boyhood club.
City value McAtee highly but are thought to be willing to listen to offers in the region of £25m for the playmaker as he approaches the last 12 months of his contract.
As it stands, Borussia Dortmund are thought to be the prime contenders after agreeing to sell Jamie Gitten to Chelsea for around £50m. Meanwhile, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, RB Leipzig and one other unnamed German outfit are thought to be showing interest in the youngster.
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