Manchester City forward weighing summer exit amid Pep Guardiola uncertainty | OneFootball

James McAtee is strongly considering the possibility of leaving Manchester City in the summer transfer window in search of regular first-team football, as per a new report.

The 22-year-old is facing a crucial few months at his boyhood club as a decision needs to be made on McAtee’s future at the Etihad Stadium, with the attacker’s current deal expiring next summer.

After a frustrating first half of the campaign that saw McAtee seek a departure in January, the England U-21 international has been given a new lease of life by Pep Guardiola and improved first-team exposure in recent months.

McAtee scored on his full Premier League debut in a 5-2 drubbing of Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month, being rewarded for his performance with another start in a crucial 2-1 win over Aston Villa last week.

However, Manchester City have a huge rebuild on their hands come the end of the season and incoming sporting director Hugo Viana will pull no punches in his audit of Guardiola’s squad as he looks to build a winning side to challenge on all fronts next term.

McAtee has long-standing interest from Bayer Leverkusen, who will see offers come their way for man-of-the-moment Florian Wirtz, who has been identified as Guardiola’s preferred replacement for the outgoing Kevin De Bruyne.

As reported by Football Insider, McAtee is keen on leaving Manchester City ahead of the 2025-26 season to start a new chapter in his career after struggling for regular game time under Guardiola for much of the ongoing campaign.

Nottingham Forest are amongst a long list of clubs keeping tabs on the Salford-born forward, who has scored an impressive seven times in less than 900 minutes of first-team action this season, clocking 25 outings across all competitions for Manchester City.