Leeds United have been plotting a move for Nottingham Forest midfielder James McAtee ahead of the summer window.
But despite the Whites’ pursuit of the Man City academy graduate, former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown has serious doubts about whether the deal makes sense for either parties.
The 23-year-old has endured a difficult debut season at the City Ground since his £25 million move from Manchester City last summer.
He had managed to just get ten Premier League appearances under his belt (starting only one of those) as it increasingly looks like Vitor Pereira will be the latest Forest manager to leave him out of his plans. And McAtee looks certain to be available this summer.
Leeds have been long-term admirers of the England Under-21 international and missed out on signing him last year when he chose Forest over a move to Elland Road.
Now Daniel Farke & Co will have the opportunity to revisit that pursuit but according to Brown, McAtee himself may have other ideas.
James McAtee Nottingham Forest exit looks certain after another wasted season
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Across a full Premier League season, McAtee has contributed nothing in front of goal and has barely featured despite Forest operating in a relegation battle where you might expect fringe players to get their chances.
He has played under four different managers at the City Ground and failed to make an impression under any of them and that is a pattern that is becoming difficult to ignore.
Brown was characteristically direct when asked about McAtee’s situation. “He hasn’t ever managed to impress in the Premier League when he’s been away from Man City,” he told Football Insider.
“I had my doubts when I used to watch him at Sheffield United, and then he went to City and did okay when he was called upon, but it’s easy going it at City. The real challenge has been whether he can go to Nottingham Forest and make them a better side, and he hasn’t been able to do that.”
Leeds United James McAtee transfer questioned
Brown acknowledged Leeds’ long-standing interest but stopped well short of endorsing the move.
“Leeds will be interested because they’ve been after him for a while, but I’m not sure it would be the right move for them or for him,” he said.
The concern is straightforward, if McAtee has struggled to establish himself in environments less demanding than the one Daniel Farke has built at Leeds, what changes in a new setting? The questions that have followed him since leaving City have not been answered, and signing a player on that basis carries genuine risk.
Leeds are aiming to keep strengthening their squad if they maintain their Premier League status this season, and the ambition behind their recruitment plans is clear.
But Brown’s scepticism reflects a broader doubt about whether McAtee has the profile to improve a side trying to compete at the upper end of the table rather than just survive in it.
Bundesliga and Ligue 1 clubs hold advantage over Leeds in James McAtee transfer race?
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The most significant factor working against Leeds is McAtee’s own preference.
Brown told Football Insider that the midfielder is believed to be keen on moving abroad rather than staying in the Premier League, with a number of Bundesliga and Ligue 1 clubs monitoring his situation.
Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen are among those said to have shown interest at various points over the past year, and McAtee is reportedly drawn to the idea of following the path taken by Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho in making the step to European football.
That aspiration makes sense for a technically gifted player who has not been given the time and space in the Premier League to show what he can do. A move to France or Germany could offer him exactly that. For Leeds, the challenge is not just convincing Nottingham Forest to sell — it is convincing McAtee that Elland Road is a better option than the continent. Right now, the evidence suggests that will be a very difficult pitch to make.
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