Manchester City have mastered the essential task of selling players at premium fees.
Ferran Torres’ £46 million move to Barcelona is the perfect example, considering City doubled their profit after one and a half seasons despite the Spaniard’s underwhelming spell at the Etihad Stadium.
The La Liga winner has been a mere bit-part player for the Catalan giants and it seemed like the Sky Blues had the foresight in January 2022 that he would not turn into a superstar forward elsewhere.
Similarly, Pep Guardiola’s side banked £34.1 million (BBC Sport) after selling Danilo to Juventus as they made an £8 million profit, with Joao Cancelo joining Manchester City for £60 million in a swap deal — which was a smart piece of business as well.
Everton’s £25 million offer for James McAtee would be great business for Man City
James McAtee is another player who looks set to leave City after he favoured representing England at the Under-21 European Championship over partaking in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Everton have shortlisted McAtee and they are open to paying £25 million to secure his services.
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If the Toffees pay the big bucks, Manchester City might well have made the best sale of the summer, considering he started just eight games in all competitions for them last season.
McAtee shone at the Under-21 European Championship and while he is clearly a brilliant prospect, his senior career might not merit such a fee — as the 21-year-old has played two seasons of Premier League football and one in the Championship for Sheffield United.
James McAtee in action for Manchester City v West Ham.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
As a result, how the Englishman may fare in Merseyside if he says yes to the move remains a major question mark.
However, Everton boss David Moyes rates McAtee highly and for Manchester City, they would have every reason to sanction his sale as their academy product does not have a long-term future in their midfield or on the flanks.
In the middle of the park, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki would be Pep Guardiola’s favoured options while on both flanks, the Catalan tactician tends to opt for the likes of Jeremy Doku, Oscar Bobb and Savinho.
Man City’s most expensive sales of all time
If McAtee signs for Everton for £25 million, Manchester City would have every reason to be delighted about the move.
However, the Salford-born attacker would not even crack it into City’s five biggest sales.
MAN CITY’S BIGGEST-EVER SALES FEE BOUGHT FOR
JULIAN ALVAREZ £64.1M (RISING TO £81.5M) £14.1M
RAHEEM STERLING £47.5M (RISING TO £50M) £49M
FERRAN TORRES £46.3M (RISING TO £54.7M) £20.8M
GABRIEL JESUS £45M £27M
LEROY SANE £44.7M £42M
Manchester City’s 17 biggest sales
Apart from Raheem Sterling, every player on the list was sold for a profit.
However, at the time, perhaps fans and pundits alike questioned why City were happy to move the aforementioned players on.
Considering McAtee came through the ranks at Manchester City, his potential move to Everton would be accounted as pure profit.