West Ham United are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, as per transfer journalist Ben Jacobs.
After ranking through the Citizens’ youth system, the 22-year-old struggled to break into Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven. So, he went out on loan to Sheffield United in two consecutive seasons to play regularly and develop his career.
In his debut campaign at Bramall Lane, the Englishman guided the Blades to gain promotion. However, he failed to help his side survive relegation in the following campaign.
Guardiola decided to keep him in the first team last term and used him as a rotational option. But he didn’t get enough playing time, so speculation surrounding his future has been emerging in this window.
McAtee was the England captain in the U21 European Championship this summer and propelled the Three Lions to win the tournament, making three goal contributions in six games.
Now, on X, Jacobs says that West Ham are ready to sign McAtee from Man City and give him the platform to flourish at the highest level.
McAtee to West Ham
City believe McAtee has the same qualities as Cole Palmer, so they want a similar fee that Chelsea paid to buy the 23-year-old, which is around £40m.
However, purchasing McAtee won’t be straightforward for the East London club as Nottingham Forest are also considering making a move for him, while German clubs are in this race as well.
Jacobs wrote:
“West Ham and Nottingham Forest are among the clubs interested in signing James McAtee. McAtee also has interest from clubs in Germany. City value the 22-year-old in a similar bracket to Cole Palmer at the time he left the club to join Chelsea for £40m.”
Graham Potter likes to deploy a back-three system and uses attacking midfielders rather than natural wingers. So, perhaps, after cashing-in on Mohammed Kudus, the Hammers are planning to sign McAtee to replace the Ghanaian.
On the other hand, Forest have recently sold Anthony Elanga and are also likely to lose Morgan Gibbs-White, so they are planning to bolster the No.10 position by signing McAtee.
The 22-year-old is a highly talented player and would be a shrewd scoop for West Ham should they eventually manage to secure his service this summer.
