Nottingham Forest are refusing to give up in their pursuit of James McAtee and are working hard at convincing the Manchester City star to snub the continent and remain in the Premier League, despite the possibility of their interest generating an unwelcome price hike.
TEAMtalk understands that McAtee is available for £25million after being told he can leave the Etihad for first-team football this summer.
Fulham, West Ham, and Everton have all enquired, but Forest, despite their ongoing row with Tottenham over Morgan Gibbs-White, are now pushing the hardest.
McAtee, 22, is due to fly out to Germany to sound out a move to Eintracht Frankfurt, while fellow Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen are also keen.
Clubs from Italy and Spain have been credited with an interest in the in-demand England Under-21 midfielder.
McAtee, who was left out of Man City’s Club World Cup squad by Pep Guardiola, caught the eye of leading clubs after making a big impression last month in captaining the Young Lions to Under-21 Euros glory.
City see homegrown star McAtee’s exit as generating vital profit to ward off any PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) threat after shelling out in excess of £100m this summer on four new signings, and Forest are looking to capitalise on the situation…
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Nott’m Forest eye Gibbs-White, Elanga replacements
The race for McAtee is still open, but at a critical stage, as Forest hope to convince McAtee to continue the next stage of his career at the City Ground.
Anthony Elanga’s £55million move to Newcastle is still expected to be followed by Gibbs-White’s £60million transfer to Tottenham, despite the legal challenge launched by the Tricky Trees.
The duo were at the heart of Forest’s attacking plans last season under Nuno Espirito Santo, and the club have identified McAtee among the possible replacements.
The big-money sales of Elanga and Gibbs-White could see a hike in McAtee’s asking price, but Forest are prepared for that and to push the boat out to land him.
Brentford star Yoane Wissa is a long-term target for Forest and remains on the shortlist. PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko is also high up on the radar, as TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti reported.
Juventus duo Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula have also been looked at by Forest, but those deals are now off.
But McAtee very much remains a top priority for Forest, and they are poised to make a big push to land him ahead of rival suitors from the Premier League and abroad.
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