James McAtee is poised to leave Manchester City this summer with Fabrizio Romano revealing that Atalanta have joined at least six other clubs in the pursuit of the attacking midfielder.
McAtee has played 34 times for Man City since graduating from their academy, chipping in with seven goals in that time. During his spell at the Etihad, McAtee has picked up winners’ medals in the Premier League (twice), UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield.
The playmaker dreams of starring for City and helping them to compete for future Premier League titles and the Champions League, but that is unlikely to happen.
Players such as Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki will stand in McAtee’s way when it comes to starting in his favoured position at No 10.
Pep Guardiola has openly stated he wants a smaller squad in the new season so he does not have to leave players such as McAtee out.
The 22-year-old did not make the cut for City’s Club World Cup campaign and instead captained England to glory at this summer’s U21 European Championships.
McAtee is now searching for a new club where he can start regularly and take his development to the next level.
Romano has confirmed previous reports that City will sell McAtee this summer for £20-25million (up to €29m / $34m).
‘Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A clubs are showing interest’ in McAtee, the transfer expert has stated.
Romano added that Atalanta are ‘among [the] clubs well informed on his situation’.
This update comes after The Times revealed on June 30 that McAtee is ‘set to leave’ the Etihad in the coming weeks amid interest from five Bundesliga sides. Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart are all vying to take McAtee to Germany, though they will now face competition from other clubs including Atalanta, too.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Everton are among the Premier League teams monitoring McAtee, who was labelled ‘incredible’ by Guardiola in January after scoring a hat-trick in the 8-0 FA Cup thrashing of Salford City.
James McAtee could forge career abroad
The starlet has previously been linked with a shock move to City’s rivals Manchester United, though they are currently prioritising Bryan Mbeumo’s capture.
Instead, McAtee could follow in the footsteps of players such as Jude Bellingham and Scott McTominay by looking to take the next step in his career on the continent.
Bellingham shone at Dortmund to earn a blockbuster move to Real Madrid, while McTominay was named the Serie A’s MVP last term after swapping Man Utd for Napoli.
It has been suggested that City want either a sell-on clause or buy-back clause when negotiating McAtee’s exit. They want some form of protection in case he goes on to become a truly elite star.
McAtee is not the only player who could leave City during the current transfer window as Guardiola ramps up his squad overhaul. Kevin De Bruyne was allowed to leave on a free transfer, subsequently linking up with McTominay at Napoli, while Kyle Walker has been sold to Burnley.
Jack Grealish has been put on the market for £40m, while Kalvin Phillips is another player set to be moved on. Oscar Bobb is of interest to Juventus, though it remains to be seen if City are open to selling him.
Man City transfer news: Talks for UCL finalist; surprise exit claim
Meanwhile, City have reportedly entered discussions with Inter Milan over the signing of a Champions League finalist.
City began their squad revamp in January by landing Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
But one of those players is already angling for an exit, a report has claimed.
