Pep Guardiola is reportedly keen to use James McAtee next season rather than loan him out again.
That is the claim from the Daily Mail today.
McAtee spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Sheffield United, and really caught the eye for the Blades.
He helped them to gain promotion to the Premier League, and finished the season by winning the club’s Young Player of the Season award.
There had been some talk about McAtee perhaps staying at Bramall Lane for next season.
Obviously, Sheffield United are playing Premier League football in 2023/24, and McAtee already knows the players, the system and the set-up.
It had been claimed that City were ready to loan McAtee out again, and were eyeing a top club for him.
But it is now being suggested that McAtee will be staying at City.
Man City set to reject loan offers for James McAtee this summer
According to the Daily Mail, City are ready to reject loan offers for McAtee this summer.
Guardiola is said to be ready to integrate him into the first-team squad from 2023/24.
The plan is for McAtee to start the season with the squad, and just see how he gets on and how much he is able to feature.
City officials want to give their academy graduate the opportunity to develop alongside the likes Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.
When Foden first came through at City, calls were loud for Guardiola to send him out on loan.
The Spaniard ignored these calls and kept him around the first-team squad.
That turned out to be a brilliant decision, with Foden now one of the best youngsters in world football. It is very clear he benefited massively from being around world-class players day in, day out.
Claim that Pep Guardiola is ready to give James McAtee at Man City a chance is very exciting
So McAtee is set to get a chance with the first-team next season.
That is absolutely brilliant news.
It has long been thought that McAtee is one of the most talented young players at the whole club, and potentially the best since Foden.
He has really impressed at Sheffield United and it’s great that Guardiola feels he could be ready to play in the Premier League for his side. McAtee has been on his radar, with Pep previously calling him ‘a special player’.
It might be that he gets a similar level of game time as Foden got when he was first coming through.
But if that means he’ll become as good as Foden, then it’s surely the right call.
