Manchester City and Nottingham Forest have agreed a fee for James McAtee that will see the academy star depart
James McAtee
James McAtee(Image: PA)
James McAtee is set to complete a move to Nottingham Forest after the club agreed a £30m fee with Manchester City. The 22-year-old will leave the Blues after coming through the academy but is staying in the Premier League with Forest.
McAtee shone as a youngster at City, helping them to win the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 12 years in 2020 before being named the Premier League 2 Player of the Year in 2022. His senior debut came a year earlier against Manchester United, with his performance leaving pundit Gary Neville to gush about the 'David Silva clones' being produced in the academy.
Two years on loan at Sheffield United followed before McAtee returned to the Etihad determined to break into Pep Guardiola's first team and stay there. He would end the season with seven goals - only four players managed more - but was left out of the squad for the FA Cup final and last Premier League game despite the manager saying publicly he should have used him more often.
City's decision to allow McAtee to go to the Under-21 European Championship rather than the Club World Cup signalled the end of his career with the Blues, although that competition saw his stock lifted higher. He captained England to glory and was named player of the match in the win over Spain in the final.
A number of German clubs were interested in signing McAtee and a move to the Bundesliga looked on the cards at one point, but those clubs were put off by a hefty valuation from City; multiple bids of around £25m were rejected for a player with one year left on his contract, with City wanting closer to £40m.
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Forest stayed at the negotiating table though and were able to whittle City down to a total package of £30m. City head to Forest on December 27, with the return fixture at the Etihad on March 4.
It marks the second major knockdown of the summer, with Como securing Maximo Perrone for a fee of £13m when the Blues had been asking for £25m.
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