National World Top Stories Update Tuesday 4 November, 2025
James McAtee says his decision to leave Manchester City this summer came down to one thing - regular football.
The Englishman captained the under-21 squad to the European championship in the same summer, and claimed he had been thinking about leaving the Etihad long before the tournament had even begun.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, he said: “I just want consistent football, I feel like I’ve not had that for a good three years now - and it’s hard to always get back in the rhythm straight away.
“But I know that I have to work hard for it and prove myself. In every good team, you’re going to have to battle for your spot. That’s something I’m willing to do.”
Man City went through major changes over the summer, with Hugo Viana replacing Txiki Begiristain as director of football and several big names like Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan leaving the club.
The Salford-born playmaker added that he’s excited to face his former teammates when Forest play against Man City in the Premier League.
“I’ve not really thought about it, but it’ll be fun and interesting,” he said. “Right now, I just want to focus on impressing here at Forest.”
Man City have a habit of selling off their academy talents. Morgan Rodgers, Liam Delap and Michael Olise are all recent graduates, and most notably Cole Palmer was sold to Chelsea for £40m.
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