What do Manchester City do with James McAtee as Bayer Leverkusen circle? | OneFootball

There is no doubting the talent of James McAtee. He does look set to have a good career as a player. The question is where will that be? So far this season McAtee has had limited opportunities with Manchester City. But recently he has impressed. He scored a hat trick against Salford City and he also scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester City against Ipswich Town. But now it appears that Bayer Leverkusen have an interest in signing the young midfielder. So the question is what do City do with McAtee?

Fabrizio Romano has reported that Bayer Leverkusen have approached Manchester City about signing James McAtee. Furthermore, Romano reports that Leverkusen have enquired about signing McAtee on loan with an obligation to buy included in any potential deal. Romano further reports that Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are reluctant to lose McAtee as they see him as a future first-team player.

Perhaps the question should be what does James McAtee want to do? As we have seen on numerous occasions before, Manchester City rarely keep a player at the club if they do want to leave. Bernardo Silva is perhaps the only case of City keeping a player who was seeking to depart. Based on recent history, if McAtee decides he wants to play regularly elsewhere, Manchester City would likely sanction a move.

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If Manchester City see James McAtee as a future first team player then there is no value in letting him depart. Although he has been starved of opportunities until recently he has impressed on the pitch during the past month or so. It’s easy to see why City see McAtee as a future first team player. His talent is obvious and he has all of the required attributes to be a Manchester City midfielder. He may just have to remain patient before he gets a proper run in Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup. A host of City players are coming to the end of their time at the club so if and when players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan for example call time on their City careers that may be when McAtee gets an opportunity to start for Manchester City.

If Manchester City see McAtee as a future first-team player they shouldn’t let him depart this month. If McAtee wants to become a starter in Pep Guardiola’s midfield he may just have to remain patient. A rebuild is underway of Pep Guardiola’s squad and if McAtee is patient he could have a key role to play in it.