It speaks volumes of the strength in depth which Manchester City possess that they can contemplate letting one of their brightest young England stars leave in search of more football. At one stage England u21 captain James McAtee was chased by just about every club in the Premier League with suitors falling over themselves to attract the young playmaker. West Ham have seemingly been on his trail for ever.
In the know Fabrizio Romano has broken the bad news on his twitter page today – Nottingham Forest are closing in on a deal to land the huge young talent:
“Exclusive- Nottingham Forest are closing in on James McAtee deal with Manchester City… agreement in the final stages for fee in excess of £20m..”
Another midfield target goes begging in what will feel like another crushing blow for West Ham fans as the Irons fail to land what will prove to be one of the brightest midfield talents of this window, and financially a superb investment- He has the look of a £50m plus player a couple of years down the line.
Everything that West Ham have professed to seek out under Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay’s brave new world. Young, fast, talented, homegrown. And off to Nottingham.
The only positive to pull from this ‘big miss’ from a West Ham perspective is that Lucas Paqueta post-inquiry has been linked again regarding a renewed transfer offer from Manchester City – if there were any truth in Paq-man leaving, then McAtee would surely have been used as a bargaining chip. The fact that McAtee is off to Forest would signal, if nothing else, the likely end of Manchester City’s intent in acquiring Paqueta – for the time being anyway.
None of this is actually a blow though is it? Doubt we were ever in for him
Best of the lot still out there Go get Fernandes
The talk is as though somehow West Ham have failed in this pursuit, ignoring how much of a say the player has. I suspect Europe vs what we can offer right now has a big pull
Even if he’d been offered Sullivan would have wanted to bid £18m.
No forethought that he might be worth £50m in a couple of years.
McAtee, Elliott, Morton, Fernandes……. criminal that we are 5 days away from 1st PL game and our midfield has not been addressed!!