Will James McAtee become another Cole Palmer? Ex-Man City boss asks ‘is he going to be good enough’ question amid Nottingham Forest & Tottenham transfer talk

With game time limited at the Etihad Stadium amid fierce competition for places, and having entered the final year of his contract, the expectation is that McAtee will be on the move in the summer transfer window.

He captained England’s U21s to European Championship glory in 2025, attracting more attention, and is reported to be registering on the recruitment radar of teams in the Premier League and across Europe.

Forest are said to have seen an opening bid of £25 million ($33m) knocked back, while Spurs have reportedly turned their attention to McAtee after missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White. A new challenge could be on the cards for a product of City’s academy system.

Palmer stepped out of those ranks and has gone on to become a talismanic presence for Chelsea on the back of his 2023 switch to Stamford Bridge. Quizzed on whether McAtee could tread a similar path, ex-City boss Stuart Pearce - speaking in association with the online casino Casino.org - told GOAL: “City and Chelsea and teams of that ilk invest financially in real young talent in the hope that they are going to come through.

“If they don’t make it to that standard - we have probably seen it with the likes of [Anthony] Elanga as well, [Callum] Hudson-Odoi, one or two others, if you don’t crack it at whatever club you’re at, parent club that you’ve been at for a long time, maybe you might have a little bit more fire in your belly. You know you have got someone to prove wrong.

“That might be the case with McAtee. He has had a really good summer, a successful summer with the U21s, and I think everyone is looking for a bargain. You are trying to pick a bargain up from abroad.

“If you get someone like McAtee, there won’t be any settling-in period as such, it’s just whether he is going to be good enough to play regularly in the Premier League. Only time will tell.”

Salford native McAtee, who is 22 years of age, has made 34 competitive appearances for City. He has seven goals to his name, including an FA Cup hat-trick, and proved during a loan spell at Sheffield United in 2023-24 that he is deserving of regular Premier League minutes.