Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was full of praise for James McAtee following his performance against Leicester City at the weekend.
The 22-year-old had only made two brief cameos off the bench in the Premier League prior to the game at the King Power Stadium but Guardiola decided to give the midfielder his chance. He did not disappoint, helping to set up City’s second goal during the 2-0 victory. Asked about McAtee after the match, Guardiola pointed out that he was part of a group of academy players who have gone on to shine at senior level:
“In a generation we have at City that have been unbelievable, when you see Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Macca, Liam Delap, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, they’re incredible players come from there and he was part of that generation, he captained them.”
Of course, City supporters will be first to point out that most of these players have gone on to thrive at other clubs, most notably Palmer and Lavia at Chelsea as well as Rogers at Aston Villa.
Guardiola told City to keep McAtee
The City head coach also revealed that he made it clear to Director of Football Txiki Begiristain in the summer that he wanted to retain the services of the England Under 21 international.
Guardiola is mindful of the fact that so many of McAtee’s teammates in the academy have been successful elsewhere so he doesn’t want to make the same mistake with the midfielder.
Clubs are keen to take the player away from the Etihad
Despite Guardiola being a fan of McAtee, it hasn’t stopped teams from plotting bids for the Englishman.
The Daily Mail reported on Monday morning that there are at least nine clubs, including Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bayer Leverkusen, Red Bull Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Bologna and Fiorentina, interested in signing him.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
