Man City Set Bargain ‘Asking Price’ for James McAtee, Risk Repeat of Cole Palmer Blunder | OneFootball

Manchester City are reportedly prepared to cash in on homegrown midfielder James McAtee for a fraction of what Cole Palmer was sold for in 2023.

The total package agreed for Palmer when he joined Chelsea was £42.5 million ($57.8 million). At that time, Palmer had only played 41 first-team games in his entire career—all for City.

It was a gamble for Chelsea given how unproven he was, but one the Blues hit the jackpot with.

McAtee has similarly played 34 times for City, including 27 last season alone. But the Salford-born 22-year-old additionally made 75 Sheffield United appearances, 30 of them in the Premier League.

McAtee’s contract is up next summer, though, and Fabrizio Romano reports that an offer in the region to £20 million ($27.2 million) to £25 million ($34 million) could prompt a sale.

Cole Palmer left Manchester City for Chelsea in 2023. / IMAGO/PA Image

Various Premier League, Serie A and Bundesliga clubs are said to be “showing interest” in McAtee, captain of England’s Under-21 European Championship-winning team earlier this summer.

Romano specifically names Atalanta as being “well informed” of the situation.

Bayer Leverkusen were previously reported over several months to be tracking McAtee, but it was relayed in Germany in June—tying in with Xabi Alonso’s departure to Real Madrid—that the interest from the 2023–24 Bundesliga champions had gone cold.

There are also links with Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart, too, with Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Leeds United among the possible Premier League destinations being talked about by various news outlets.

McAtee’s great-uncle is the late football legend Alan Ball, the youngest member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team. Aside from international success, Ball was most famous for his time as a player with Blackpool, Everton and Arsenal, but he was also Manchester City manager during the 1995–96 season, which ended with relegation from the Premier League.