James McAtee offered Manchester City return hope by Pep Guardiola after Nottingham Forest transfer

James McAtee has the potential to be a star at the Etihad Stadium, even though the club sold him this past weekend, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

 

After leading the England U-21 team to European Championship triumph in the summer and turning down the opportunity to play for Guardiola at the FIFA Club World Cup, McAtee finally made the long-awaited £30 million move to the City Ground last week.

The 22-year-old, who had a bit-part role in the Manchester City first team last season, pushed for a move away from the Etihad Stadium in January due to interest from Germany. He is now looking for a platform where he will have regular senior minutes.

Guardiola and City had a depressing 2024–25 season after winning four straight titles. They finished third in the Premier League standings, behind Liverpool and Arsenal, and received their lowest number of points.

Following two years at Bramall Lane, McAtee had a few productive years on loan at Sheffield United before Guardiola included him in Manchester City’s senior squad last summer in an attempt to break into his boyhood club’s senior team.

However, McAtee only made his full Premier League debut in a 5-2 victory against Crystal Palace in April, when the Englishman scored after rounding Dean Henderson. Guardiola limited opportunities for the Salford-born offensive midfielder during the first half of the season.

In order to secure first-team opportunities to further his career outside of the Etihad Stadium, McAtee sought an escape after City redesigned their dressing room this summer and brought in Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

After completing a £30 million deal to Nottingham Forest, the City academy graduate has chosen to remain in England after considering his options in Germany in light of interest from Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt.

 

Guardiola reflected on the transfer over the weekend and emphasized his desire to keep McAtee at Manchester City, who have included buy-back and sell-on clauses for their academy product in his Nottingham Forest contract.

“Macca (James McAtee) is someone I would really like to have with me, but we have too many players, and he wants more minutes, so he thinks he will get them if he goes somewhere else.” And I fully comprehend,” Guardiola remarked.

It’s possible that Macca (McAtee) will join Man City. However, there are occasions when he requests extra time, and while it is reasonable, we are unable to grant it. He then requests another area.

With new recruit Tijjani Reijnders taking over as architect-in-chief after Kevin De Bruyne left in the summer, Manchester City kicked off their 2025–26 Premier League campaign with a 4-0 thumping of Wolves at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday.