Manchester City’s James McAtee during the match against Feyenoord. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
West Ham hope to land Man City ace James McAtee in January but face an uphill battle to secure the player whose situation mirrors that of Cole Palmer.
Pep Guardiola has seen his Man City side endure a horrible Premier League the 2024/25 season, but that has yet to see him call up the highly rated James McAtee to help alleviate the problems.
The Cole Palmer-type situation could see James McAtee leave town
Cole Palmer decided a move to Chelsea would benefit his career after being held back at City, and is now flourishing at the Blues in what must surely be a huge embarrassment for Guardiola.
It’s all going downhill for City at the moment Erling Haaland misses i Kevin De Bruyne’s future still seems unclear.
The situation the club finds itself in is unprecedented and appears to be snowballing, with McAtee’s situation potentially the next to cause trouble.
according to The Times (subscription required), West Ham are interested in bringing McAtee to the capital, hoping that Julen Lopetegui it can also turn around a season that has been a real disappointment.
However, the Hammers won’t have things their own way.
James McAtee needs to leave Man City to thrive like Cole Palmer has
That’s because The Times also note that Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Fiorentina and Bologna are all interested in the exciting 22-year-old.
Considering he has played just two minutes of the current Premier League season, McAtee is keen to move on, and it’s a fair bet his representatives will tell the City hierarchy exactly that.
He has 18 months to execute his contract (transfer market), so while there is no immediate need to sell, City could get a better price now than in six months or a year.
