Leeds United have held long-standing interest in Manchester City attacking midfielder James McAtee as he looks well out on the fringes under Pep Guardiola, and he could be on the move this summer.
Leeds’ attempts to strengthen this summer have been largely focused on the defence first and foremost, but one position that Daniel Farke has always seen targets elude him is attacking midfield.
In each season since he’s been at the club, targets have come and gone in that position, some cropping up across multiple transfer windows.
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Farke has made it very clear that he would prefer a new attacking midfielder added to his current squad, following attempts for the likes of Emi Buendia and James McAtee, which were confirmed by Angus Kinnear last summer.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds United squad needs a creative spark for next season in the Premier League. (Action Images/Matthew Childs)
Brenden Aaronson’s dogged work out of possession made him a useful asset during the promotion-winning season, but his lack of creative output looks like a real weakness of the starting lineup heading into the Premier League.
Leeds clearly require an attacking midfielder, whether it’s a Buendia-type who shifts in from the right wing, a Gustavo Hamer who is more of an eight-10-hybrid, or an out-and-out playmaker that operates behind the striker.
Could Leeds be handed boost in long-term James McAtee interest as Man City put him up for sale?
McAtee in particular is definitely one to watch in general with his future looking virtually certain to be away from Man City.
Left out of their Club World Cup squad among other big names, the 22-year-old has now been revealed by Fabrizio Romano to essentially be up for sale at the Etihad.
(REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)
Romano reported that McAtee is free to leave Man City for an asking price of around £20-25million this summer, and already has interest generated from Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A clubs, Atalanta being the one actually named.
The current make-up of Leeds’ attacking setup means that someone of McAtee’s profile would certainly be a worthy addition, a left-footer who can play both centrally and off the right in the mould of how Farke got such joy from Buendia in a similar role.
Of course, the issue with this supposed interest that Leeds may still hold in McAtee is that they obviously won’t be alone, especially at that price for a 22-year-old, Guardiola-schooled creator.
Atalanta won’t need to convince McAtee to help them avoid relegation, nor would Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, but Leeds’ precarious situation next season might be something the Man City man is keen to avoid, having suffered that fate with Sheffield United in 23/24.
The benefit Leeds have in any discussions with players of McAtee’s calibre and potential is that he’s going to be starting week in, week out to develop his skills as a Premier League player, as opposed to less assured minutes at the clubs mentioned above.
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