Bundesliga heavyweights are battling to land James McAtee after the attacking midfielder captained England’s Under 21s to European glory against Germany.
With only a year left on his contract, McAtee is set to leave Manchester City permanently this summer and any deal will include a buyback clause, which wasn’t inserted into Cole Palmer’s move to Chelsea two years ago.
The 22-year-old, trusted with the armband by Lee Carsley and man of the match in Saturday’s European Championship final, is valued at more than £25million.
Five Bundesliga sides are monitoring his situation – including Borussia Dortmund, who are selling ex-City academy star Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to Chelsea for £55.5m.
RB Leipzig, Frankfurt and Stuttgart have registered interest in McAtee, while Bayer Leverkusen are long-term admirers.
McAtee will become the latest in a long line of young City talents to go for a sizeable fee and his departure would take them close to breaking the £400m mark for selling academy players over the last decade.
James McAtee is hot property after starring for England’s Under 21 side this summer
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder is expected to leave Manchester City in next few months
Rayan Cherki’s arrival has moved McAtee further down Pep Guardiola’s pecking order
Scoring seven goals in 27 appearances last season, McAtee’s route to more games under Pep Guardiola will be blocked by the capture of Rayan Cherki and Oscar Bobb’s return from a fractured leg.
McAtee’s form at the Euros vindicated the decision not to travel with City for the Club World Cup as Guardiola’s squad embark on the last-16 stage against Al Hilal in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Weather predictions suggest the clash with the 19-time Saudi Pro League champions at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium could be interrupted by thunderstorms. City’s pre-season friendly against Barcelona here was delayed by 80 minutes due to storms last summer.
The meeting also presents several reunions. Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo left City under a cloud after disagreements with Guardiola in January 2023, while Al Hilal’s chief executive Esteve Calzada is formerly the City Football Group’s chief commercial officer.
Marc Boixasa, Al Hilal’s chief performance officer, was previously confidante to Guardiola’s stars for the first five years of the Catalan’s reign.
