Manchester City fans are hoping to see a couple of new faces arrive in January, but there also may be an outgoing.
Pep Guardiola will bid to stop the rot once the international break is over, with his side currently on a four-game losing streak.
It is something of a mini-crisis for Manchester City, who are undoubtedly missing injured midfielder Rodri. City have also been relying heavily on Erling Haaland to score the goals, but the Norwegian’s form has dipped a little compared to the start of the season.
Despite backing him publicly, Guardiola has seemingly been reluctant to use James McAtee. So far this term, he’s played just one minute in the Premier League.
The youngster hasn’t featured in any of City’s last three games, despite City perhaps needing a creator on the field.
Now, West Ham United are apparently interested in the academy graduate.
West Ham United eye James McAtee as Lucas Paqueta replacement
It’s been reported by The Sun that West Ham United are keen to sign James McAtee in January.
The Hammers are said to fear losing Lucas Paqueta who, of course, is a player City have shown interest in themselves previously.
McAtee would become their top target if Paqueta left the club. He is wanted by Botafogo back in his homeland.
The suggestion is that McAtee would cost north of £20 million.
City are not thought to be ready to reignite their previous interest in Paqueta following his gambling probe, and it’s suggested West Ham doing a straight deal for McAtee is much more likely than any kind of swap.
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£20m would be nowhere near enough for McAtee
So West Ham could come calling from James McAtee in January and he would more than likely improve their side.
McAtee is a real talent, but unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have the total trust of Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, despite the Manchester City manager backing him publicly. Guardiola’s underuse of McAtee has been strange to see, with fans having longer to see more of the 22-year-old ‘Salford Silva’.
It would be a real shame if the ‘special’ McAtee sought to leave, because there is huge potential there.
| James McAtee for Man City in 2024/25 |
| Appearances – 6 |
| Minutes played – 311 |
| Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 0 |
What City must consider if they were open to selling McAtee is what happened with Cole Palmer.
City sold Palmer for £42.5 million and he has now absolutely exploded at Chelsea. Interestingly, McAtee has a similar level of potential to Palmer and also has a similar amount of Premier League experience to Palmer at the time of his move to Stamford Bridge.
So with these things in mind, City should be asking for considerably more than £20 million. But in an ideal world, he won’t be sold and will start to see more involvement soon.
