Leeds United face German battle in Man City transfer race | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen have entered the race for Manchester City’s James McAtee, casting doubt over a move materialising to Leeds United.

Leeds United’s move for Manchester City’s James McAtee has been thrown into serious doubt, with German outfit Bayer Leverkusen reportedly entering the race for the playmaker.

The Whites are in a promising position to return to the promised land of the Premier League this season, currently occupying an automatic promotion place with 38 points taken from their opening 19 league games.

In an ambitious bid to bolster the squad even further under Daniel Farke, the Yorkshire-based club have held an interest in Man City midfielder McAtee, who has had previous Championship experience with Sheffield United, contributing nine goals and three assists in 37 Championship outings for the Blades.

A report earlier in November from Caught Offside named Leeds as one of many sides plotting a move for the 22-year-old, with the likes of Celtic, Lens, Lille, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Feyenoord, VfB Stuttgart and Girona all monitoring the situation.

But a further twist has occurred, with Man City’s stance on a deal for McAtee being revealed.

Leeds United rivaled by Bayer Leverkusen for James McAtee transfer

According to a report by TBR Football, Pep Guardiola and Man City are in desperate need of fresh talent to arrest their prominent slide in the Premier League, and the Citizens hold an interest in Leverkusen’s talisman Florian Wirtz to transform their fortunes.

Man City have been touted to include player exchanges in the bid for Wirtz, and Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is rumoured to hold an interest in McAtee, along with winger Oscar Bobb, believing the duo would be enough to replace the loss felt by their star player.

With the Bundesliga reigning champions entering the fold, Leeds will be sweating on whether a deal will now be completed for the promising young talent.

Leeds United face an uphill battle to land James McAtee

With such a big name like Bayer Leverkusen in the mix, Leeds will struggle to tempt Manchester City in letting the promising attacker leave for Yorkshire.

Such an ambitious move to Elland Road would only be available in a loan move too, whereas an eye-catching deal for Wirtz would surely see McAtee move to Germany permanently, which is likely to be in the best interests of Man City if it means landing one of the leading players in world football.

From a Leeds perspective, they will be hoping this potential deal cools off so they can be ready to swoop him and add another sensational piece of attacking quality to their ranks for the second half of the season.