Chelsea are interested in signing Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, according to The Sun on Sunday (via GiveMeSport).
New manager Enzo Maresca is said to be keen on recruiting the England Under 21 international, who spent last season out on loan at Sheffield United.
It is believed that Maresca also wanted to bring him to Leicester when he was coaching the Foxes but he has now recommended him as a target for his new team too.
McAtee has only made seven senior appearances for City, having spent the last two years away on loan spells.
It seems unlikely that manager Pep Guardiola will want to keep him around, based on his performances in the Premier League for Sheffield United.
How did McAtee perform last campaign?
The 21-year-old scored 5 goals and provided 4 assists in 33 games for the Blades, which is not a bad return considering the Yorkshire club were battling against relegation.
However, McAtee really needed to make a bigger impression to be in with a chance of being selected on a regular basis by Guardiola.
Will City sell another player to Chelsea?
Supporters will, of course, be wondering whether the club will be repeating the same mistake they made with Cole Palmer if they do allow McAtee to make the switch to Stamford Bridge.
Since joining the Blues for £42.5m last year, Palmer has racked up 25 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances, with many now feeling that City should not have let him leave for a direct rival.
You could say that McAtee probably doesn’t have the level of talent that Palmer possesses but, even so, allowing another young talent to move to Chelsea may not be such a good idea. We shall see if Maresca’s team do make a formal approach over the coming weeks.
