Leeds United stance on James McAtee revealed as Manchester City forward assesses summer exit | OneFootball

Leeds United are strengthening their interest in Manchester City’s James McAtee ahead of the summer transfer window, as per a new report.

McAtee has been given a new lease of life at the Etihad Stadium under Pep Guardiola in recent months after a frustrating first half of the campaign for the 22-year-old from Salford, who scored on his full Premier League debut against Crystal Palace in a 5-2 win in April.

The attacking midfielder was given another start in a frustrating goalless draw with Southampton at the weekend but was taken off for Jeremy Doku at half-time as Guardiola tried to add pace and a cutting edge to his attack.

Guardiola has put faith in McAtee in recent months but there remains a decision to be made on the Manchester City academy graduate’s future as the season comes to a close – with the 2023 treble winners expected to be busy in the summer transfer window.

Hugo Viana is set to take over from Txiki Begiristain as director of football and Manchester City have identified Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White as priority additions to replace the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne.

Guardiola is understood to be eyeing four to five first-team additions ahead of the new campaign and a new full-back is on the cards amid interest in Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso and AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders, with Kyle Walker set to leave permanently when he returns from his loan stint in Italy.

Manchester City have reached a verbal agreement with Bayer Leverkusen over a sensational deal for Wirtz, who is also attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, with his current side keen to sell their best player abroad instead of strengthening their title rivals.

Wirtz’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium could have a cascading effect on McAtee’s future, with Leverkusen interested in signing the Manchester City man. However, the Sunday Mirror are reporting that Leeds United are well-placed to sign McAtee this summer.

Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Crystal Palace are reported to be amongst clubs in England keeping tabs on McAtee’s situation at Manchester City, who are understood to be valuing their academy graduate at £25 million for a permanent sale at the end of the season.

McAtee will be hopeful of playing some part in the FA Cup final this weekend as Manchester City take on Crystal Palace to end what has objectively been a sub-standard campaign on a high and