Two clubs hold transfer interest in Manchester City’s James McAtee confirms journalist | OneFootball

Manchester City could field concrete transfer interest from two European clubs this summer as the hunt for James McAtee’s signature appears to take shape.

The 22-year-old has endured somewhat of a difficult season for the club when it comes to securing the necessary game time and opportunities under Pep Guardiola to seriously stake his claim for a consistent place in starting line-ups.

The Manchester City manager made a personal effort to retain McAtee as part of his first-team squad during the last summer transfer window, ensuring that the Academy graduate remained at the Etihad Stadium off the back of successive loan spells with Sheffield United.

However, since then, McAtee has largely been limited to substitute appearances and starts in lesser competitions and matches across the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, until a first Premier League start as a City player in April against Crystal Palace.

And it seems as though James McAtee’s strong and highly-rated talents have been recognised by some of Manchester City’s competitors, as they look to take advantage of his situation at the Etihad Stadium in the upcoming summer market.

That is according to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, who reveals that McAtee has transfer interest from both the Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen and the Premier League’s Nottingham Forest ahead of the summer transfer window.

It remains to be seen just what Manchester City’s stance would be on the attacking midfielder should a concrete offer be made for the midfielder, or even whether they would be open to a temporary move away from the club once again.

One report has suggested that City could only be seeking a fee in the region of £25 million for the versatile midfielder, which many teams would likely see as a bargain price given his outstanding performances when called upon this season.

Should McAtee indeed secure an exit from Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then Manchester City officials would likely look to include a number of favourable clauses in any agreement, including a buy-back, sell-on, or first-refusal on the player.

The same strategy has been deployed on a number of the club’s most highly-rated talents, including Ipswich Town’s now-in demand striker Liam Delap, who is expected to be the number one target of Manchester United this summer.