Leeds United transfer target 'yet to receive' a new contract offer...

The Manchester City midfielder has been described as having a “genuine option” in Leeds United.

The likelihood that James McAtee will leave Manchester City is growing, and rumours indicate he might be available

for less money than in past transfer windows.

Last weekend, McAtee made a comeback as a potential summer target for Leeds, as The Sunday Mirror reported that

they were among five clubs that had “made enquiries” about the 22-year-old. Although Crystal Palace, West Ham,

Bayer Leverkusen, and Nottingham Forest were also mentioned, the source indicated that over a dozen possible

bidders were monitoring the situation.

Manchester City’s hesitancy to let go of McAtee appears to have subsided after another season on the sidelines and

with a busy summer of investment expected at the Etihad. They may be up for sale, according to reports, and the

Manchester Evening News today goes into detail about the possible asking price.

The article claims that McAtee’s current contract with City is slated to end in the summer of 2026 and that he has not

yet received an offer of new terms. This puts Etihad executives in a difficult situation because the next window is

their last opportunity to profit before the academy graduate’s value sharply declines.

When McAtee had a longer contract, City reportedly turned down offers of up to £30 million, but the Manchester

Evening News now suggests that as little as £20 million would be sufficient to complete a deal. The England youth

international could depart for free in about a year, and that reduction would only increase if a sale were to take place

in January.

According to the source, Leeds is a “genuine option” for McAtee, especially if he wants a realistic chance at regular

games, which is in line with other Elland Road claims of interest. Additionally mentioned as potential European

football destinations are Nottingham Forest and Bayer Leverkusen, with the addition that City’s interest in Florian

Wirtz from Leverkusen and Morgan Gibbs-White from Forest, respectively, may influence a deal.

In an attempt to revitalise Guardiola’s faltering team, City has been strongly connected to both parties and is

anticipated to spend considerably this summer. By using McAtee as a makeweight, they would be able to lower the

amount of money they would need to spend. However, because there are so many moving components in modern

football, such transactions are uncommon.

In any case, McAtee will have plenty of choices and will undoubtedly be inspired by Cole Palmer’s performance at

Chelsea, where he joined the squad from the City youth over two years ago in a £42.5 million move. Since then, he

has established himself as the star player at Stamford Bridge and made it into the England senior squad, something

McAtee has not yet accomplished.

Leeds may hope that a more realistic chance of becoming a major man like Palmer gives them an advantage if they

decide to go and are competing with teams like Forest or Leverkusen. However, there will also be a lot of competition

from other sources.

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