James McAtee and Jack Grealish
James McAtee and Jack Grealish are both set to leave Manchester City this summer
James McAtee has plenty of options to consider as he prepares to part ways with Manchester City. Whether he wants to stay in the Premier League, move to the Bundesliga or head to Serie A, he can pick his next move carefully.
For , the story is a little bit different. He is also on his way out at the Etihad this summer, but the queue of suitors doesn't seem quite as long.
Both players' situations have nuances, but in many ways, and Grealish's fortunes highlight the most pronounced change in the transfer market in recent years: age has become more important than ever.
In an era when spending regulations are tighter than ever, particularly the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), clubs are focusing more on the age profile of their new recruits. There is a keener eye on how long those contracts will last and how hard it is getting to shift players who are 30 and over.
Instead, clubs now want to sign younger players, where the resale value can remain reasonably high even if things don't go to plan, and wages can often be lower. That is one of the key differences between McAtee and Grealish. The latter is on a much higher salary at City and unless a loan deal is agreed, that will be putting off prospective interested parties.
The biggest difference is in their CVs. McAtee is 22 and a player of great promise, but alongside 75 appearances on loan at Sheffield United, there are 34 games for , of which only nine are starts and only three are in the Premier League.
He could be a bargain for a fee of around £25million. He captained England Under-21s to glory this summer, and if he plays regularly at his next club, the resale value could be sizeable. The Bundesliga is making a habit of upscaling young English players.
However, it is something of a gamble on that potential being realised. As much as McAtee has impressed at times for City, he hasn't been able to force his way permanently into Pep Guardiola's plans.
Grealish has faced a similar fate in recent seasons. His £100million move to City hasn't really worked out, and he never built on his outstanding performances in the treble season.
But he has been there and done it. That run of games is evidence of what he did do at the Etihad. He was consistently superb for Aston Villa and has played 39 times for England. His 190 Premier League games, of which 138 have been starts, have produced 27 goals and 31 assists.
His drop in form will have put some suitors off, but he also turns 30 in September, and clubs just aren't signing players at that age anymore - at least not for anything like the kind of fee City would want.
This summer, the most expensive deal for a player aged 27 or older is Nico Gonzalez's £21.7million move to Juventus from Fiorentina. However, that deal was actually agreed upon a year ago, when he made the same move on loan with an obligation to buy. It's only mid-July, but already, there have been 25 more expensive transfers for players aged 26 or younger.
It was the same story a year ago, when the most expensive transfer for a player aged 27 or over was Joao Palhinha's move from Fulham to Bayern Munich, which was the 17th most expensive deal of the window and came in at £42.3million, with a further £2.4million in add-ons.
That doesn't suggest there will be much of a market for a player turning 30 in the second month of next season for anything approaching a decent fee, which is why clubs are more interested in a 22-year-old with the possibility of room for growth, than a 29-year-old with a question to answer.
Kevin de Bruyne is one of - if not the - greatest players to play for Manchester City.
He leaves the club having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a memorable Champions League victory!
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To mark his amazing time at the Etihad Stadium, this special edition has been produced - KDB The King - to celebrate Kev's career with the Blues. We look back at his 10 best games in Blue, celebrate his title wins and hear from the City boss and a host of team-mates and football elite who give their views on what makes him so special.