STAY OR GO: Could James McAtee be Manchester City’s next Palmer?

Should James McAtee follow Phil Foden’s lead and stay and fight at the club, or should he go the Cole Palmer route and leave?

Manchester City are now wondering what the future holds for James McAtee, as the summer transfer window raises the issue of whether the midfielder will stay or leave.

Manchester City are in a predicament where they are unsure about James McAtee’s future, with an exit looking likely.

But which choice would benefit the club and the player more? Would McAtee’s stay be beneficial, or would a fresh start away from the Cityzens be a better option for them both?

Manchester City decided to let go of academy prodigy Cole Palmer for £40 million a few transfer windows ago, after he had made a couple of senior squad appearances.

“My thing was to never leave Manchester City”

“It wasn’t my intention. “I wanted to go on loan for a year, then return and be ready for the first team.”

“But they said I couldn’t go on loan, either stay or you get sold.”

“So then Chelsea called me. I said I wanted to go to Chelsea, and I’m very glad to be here.”

“I’m very glad I made the decision to come here.”

In 2025, Manchester City finds themselves in a predicament similar to that of two years before, with another academy prodigy drawing interest from around Europe and facing uncertainty about their future with the club.

McAtee had two loan spells at Sheffield United, the first in 2022/23 and the second in 2023/2024.

During the 2024/25 season, James made more appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, scoring on several occasions, most notably a hat-trick in the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium against Salford City; nonetheless, he was unable to truly break into the starting lineup and receive consistent playing time.

Pep Guardiola on McAtee’s playing time last season:

“We haven’t seen it last season because I didn’t allow him to play minutes”

“I can’t expect much from these players because they don’t get much playing time. Could they improve? No.”

“For the age I would like him to stay.”

“I understand, the players want more minutes I understand that.”

“I would like him to stay, he’s an Academy player, he knows the patterns, he’s a lovely person, a lovely guy.”

With increased interest from clubs such as Eintracht Frankfurt and other Premier League clubs such as Crystal Palace, we’ll see if James McAtee leaves the club this summer, and if so, will he leave permanently or on loan again? Will McAtee choose to stay and compete for a berth in the squad, like fellow academy graduates Phil Foden and Rico Lewis have done?

Stunning Manchester City twist as January signing told to leave

Nico Gonzalez is apparently looking to leave Manchester City this summer, despite only joining in January, with clubs on both continents keeping an eye on the issue.

Gonzalez is a graduate of Barcelona’s renowned La Masia program. In 2021, he was promoted to the main squad and appeared in 37 senior matches. The center midfielder spent time on loan at Valencia before signing for Porto in July 2023 for around €7-8 million.

Gonzalez established himself as one of Portugal’s top midfielders, guiding Porto to two domestic cups.

After Rodri sustained a season-ending ACL injury in September, Manchester City signed Gonzalez to replace him in January.

The Spaniard joined City for £50 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.

Gonzalez appeared in 11 Premier League games during the second half of the season, but only once at the Club World Cup.

According to Manchester City News, Gonzalez’s future at the club ‘is in doubt’ since he is’ready to depart’ this summer in order to become a guaranteed starter somewhere.

Rodri has had an injury setback, and City is waiting to see how serious the problem is, but Gonzalez appears to be impatient and wants to leave as soon as possible.

He understands that when City’s roster is at full strength, Pep Guardiola would prefer to employ Rodri and summer signing Tijjani Reijnders in midfield.

Guardiola has already ‘lost faith’ in the 23-year-old, despite only being at the Etihad for only six months.

Intermediaries plan Nico Gonzalez’s next move.
Intermediaries have began the leaving process on Gonzalez’s behalf, having contacted a number of clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia.

The player is ‘one to watch’ during the current transfer window, as his City career may be’short and sweet’.

Following the shock Club World Cup defeat to Al-Hilal, Guardiola disclosed that Rodri requested to leave in extra time due to an issue. The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner had only entered the pitch in the second half.

Guardiola has stated that the summer event in the United States may effect how his squad begins the current Premier League season. They seek to reclaim the crown, but their players will have received less rest than most of their opponents.

So far this summer, City has signed Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson have both been dismissed, and Kyle Walker will follow them out of the Etihad.