Manchester City fielding Premier League interest as potential for January transfer exit for first-team midfielder grows | OneFootball

James McAtee is at the centre of widespread Premier League interest ahead of the January transfer window, according to reports.

The England youth international saw faith put into his talents by Pep Guardiola last summer, with the Manchester City manager issuing a clear determination to his senior club colleagues to retain McAtee for the now-ongoing season.

That came off the back of successive loan spells for the attacking midfielder at Sheffield United, playing an integral role in the Blades’ promotion-winning campaign into the Premier League, before succumbing to immediate relegation from the top-flight.

However, since returning into the first-team picture at the Etihad Stadium, opportunities have been extremely difficult to come by for James McAtee, despite Guardiola seeing his squad hampered by injury problems.

And it is that limited match action that has perked the interest of a number of clubs throughout the Premier League, following on from a tenuous level of interest from Chelsea during the last summer market.

That is according to the information of GIVEMESPORT, who state that there is a growing belief among potential suitors that McAtee could be signed next month, with West Ham and Crystal Palace joined by the likes of Bayer Leverkusen in keeping tabs on the midfielder’s situation.

It is explained that Manchester City have been fielding enquiries ahead of the January transfer window, with the aforementioned Premier League duo ‘particularly determined’ to enter discussions with McAtee.

From the side of the 22-year-old, the report claims he has been desperate to make things work at Manchester City, not agitating for a move, but could become more open-minded should more opportunities emerge or the need to remain patient be made clear to him.

City’s loss of form and injuries was deemed as the perfect opportunity for McAtee to stake a claim for more game time, and having missed out on an outing against Juventus, interested parties are more confident that a deal can be agreed, according to the report.

Across the ongoing season, James McAtee has managed to make just eight appearances across all competitions for Manchester City, taking on just 333 minutes of match action in that time and starting just three games.

All three of those starts have come in Manchester City’s low priority fixtures, recording 80 minutes in the Community Shield win over Manchester United in August, and the complete 90 in the Carabao Cup third and fourth rounds against Watford and Tottenham respectively.

In that time, there has been one major positive to have emerged for McAtee, having scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for the club in a 0-4 away win against Slovan Bratislava having emerged from the bench for the final 30 minutes.