Man City ready to sell James McAtee for £25m amid West Ham transfer news
West Ham could strike a £25 million deal for Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, according to Mail on Sunday.
The report in the outlet’s print edition [page 89, 29 December] claims that Pep Guardiola’s side are willing to sell the 22-year-old for a £25m fee and the Irons have shown interest.
It also claims that the Hammers face competition from Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Crystal Palace for the Englishman’s signature.
West Ham should prioritise McAtee signing
The Hammers need to steal a march on their competition for the former Sheffield United loanee as he would improve their side massively.
Julen Lopetegui’s side are currently 13th in the league after a poor start to the campaign but are unbeaten in their last four matches.
They need to capitalise on their decent run of form and make a push for the European places, which they are five points off at the moment.
McAtee is yet to start for the Citizens in the league so far this season and is understood to be frustrated with the situation around his playing time, it is the same as Cole Palmer’s situation before his move to Chelsea.
The Hammers could offer him regular first-team football and a chance to improve on the five goals and four assists that he notched in 32 appearances in all competitions last season on loan with the Blades.
They would hope for a similar return to Palmer’s, the former City man has notched 51 goal contributions (34 goals, 17 assists) in 51 league matches for the Blues.
His signature would improve the Irons’ attacking options exponentially, easing the burden on Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus and allowing Lopetegui to move on from the underwhelming Lucas Paqueta.
In other West Ham news, one player has already been ruled out to face Liverpool after what happened versus Southampton.
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