James McAtee’s Man City career looks to be coming to an end.
At 22 years of age, it is time for the City Academy graduate to go out in search of regular first-team football as the midfielder cannot be offered that at Man City, despite seeing more minutes at the Manchester club than ever last season.
The Englishman featured in 27 games for Pep Guardiola’s side, scoring seven goals, but his appearances only amounted to a total of 936 minutes.
With a contract at Man City until 2026, Guardiola wants McAtee to stay; however, that is not the 22-year-old’s plan, and his latest decision has just signalled that he intends to leave the Premier League giants ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
James McAtee decides to play for England U21s over Man City this summer
It was reported last week that McAtee would not travel to the FIFA Club World Cup with Man City this summer, as the midfielder was picked for the England U21 squad, which will compete in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia over the coming weeks.
The Daily Mail are now reporting that this was the 22-year-old’s choice as the midfielder turned down the chance to play for Man City at the Club World Cup in order to represent England.
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The report states that McAtee was given the choice by City to choose what tournament he wanted to play in, and the midfielder believed he would gain greater game time with Lee Carsley’s squad.
This decision indicates that the Englishman is set to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer in search of regular first-team football, with the midfielder not short of admirers in England and abroad.
Bayer Leverkusen and Erik ten Hag are very interested in signing McAtee, who have admired the Man City star for some time and view him as Florian Wirtz’s replacement.
McAtee is believed to be keen on a move to the Bundesliga this summer with Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, also in the race for the Premier League star; however, the German clubs have now been joined by one of their rivals.
Stuttgart add James McAtee to their transfer list
Stuttgart have now added McAtee to their shortlist for the summer and are said to be monitoring the midfielder’s situation closely, reports Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.
The Bundesliga club have already gathered all the relevant information they need on the 22-year-old and now have to decide if they want to make a formal move for the Man City star.
🚨🆕 VfB Stuttgart have added James #McAtee to their shortlist. They are monitoring his situation closely and have already gathered all the relevant information. #VfB are looking at several profiles for his position.
Eintracht Frankfurt have also made an enquiry, while Bayer 04… pic.twitter.com/OdZ9Woqoh1
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 5, 2025
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McAtee will be pleased with all this interest from Germany, given that it is a country he would love to play in next summer, and it could prove to be a brilliant decision for the long-term future of the Englishman’s career.
Players such as Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jude Bellingham have all developed incredibly in Germany, and only time will tell if McAtee will be added to the list.