Awful Palmer repeat: Man City at risk of losing a "top talent" this week

It’s already been a very busy January transfer window for Manchester City, who’ve spent around £125m so far.

New signings Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush both debuted from the start against Chelsea on Saturday, a 3-1 victory for the Premier League champions, while Vitor Reis was an unused substitute, hoping to make his own debut at Arsenal on Sunday.

However, could the Citizens lose one of their most highly-rated young players, with the player in question frustrated by a lack of game time and opportunities?

Man City youngster potentially on the move

As reported by Florian Plettenberg and Patrick Berge of Sky Sports Deutschland, Bayer Leverkusen are “trying to secure” Manchester City youngster James McAtee.

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Die Werkself have “submitted” a loan offer with an option to buy worth £25m included, but James Ducker of the Telegraph believes this has been rejected by Man City, with Pep Guardiola having “made it clear” he has no intention of letting McAtee leave this month.

James Holland of TEAMtalk also adds that, following Kyle Walker’s move to AC Milan, the Sky Blues already have the maximum number of senior players out on loan, six, so one would have to be recalled or sold permanently for this deal to be ratified.

So, why is it so important that Man City keep hold of McAtee?

Why Man City must keep James McAtee this January

The midfielder joined the Citizens’ academy at the age of 11, most well known for his time at Sheffield United, spending two seasons on loan at the Blades, helping them gain promotion from the EFL Championship in 2023, before a rather miserable relegation campaign last time round.

Nevertheless, he still scored 14 goals in 75 appearances in South Yorkshire, his first-ever Premier League goal a stunning winner against Brentford in December 2023.

This season, he’s returned to Man City, but has seen just 507 minutes of action, his four starts coming in the Community Shield, EFL Cup and FA Cup, scoring a first-ever senior hat-trick against Salford earlier this month.

A week later, he bagged his maiden Premier League goal for the Sky Blues, this coming in the 6-0 demolition of Ipswich.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout described McAtee as a “top talent”, praising his “electric pace”, dribbling ability and “above-average decision-making in the final third”, underlining why Guardiola is reluctant to let the 22-year-old depart.

However, Sam Lee of the Athletic reports that he’s frustrated by his “limited opportunities”, so could he push for a move this month?

A Cole Palmer repeat for Man City

As outlined by Mark Ogden of ESPN, Man City have made an enormous amount of money from selling academy players in recent times.

Just last summer, Liam Delap (£15m), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m) and Tommy Doyle (£4.3m) all departed, following on from James Trafford (£15m), Shea Charles (£10m), Morgan Rogers (£1m), Roméo Lavia (£10.5m) and Samuel Edozie (£10m), who’ve also been sold since the summer of 2022; that’s without even mentioning Jadon Sancho or Michael Olise.

The majority of these players are now thriving at other clubs, Delap, Lavia and Rogers in particular have become high-quality Premier League regulars, but none of these remotely sting as much as the decision to allow Cole Palmer to join Chelsea, for a reported £42.5m.

Palmer was rarely given an opportunity by Guardiola, despite scoring in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup mere days before moving to Chelsea, hence why the club may be experiencing a sense of déjà vu when it comes to McAtee.

So, let’s see how Palmer and McAtee’s Man City careers compare.

As outlined by the table, Palmer was actually given significantly more opportunities by Guardiola than McAtee ever has, making almost double the number of appearances and seeing more than twice as many minutes.

This is despite the fact that, statistically, McAtee’s output is actually far more efficient, averaging a goal every 125 minutes.

Thus, this all underlines that McAtee, who is the same age as Palmer, the pair born a mere five months apart, should feel totally justified in his feelings that he deserves first-team football.

If that isn’t going to come at Man City, and all available evidence suggests it won’t, he should look to move, yet another sale the Sky Blues will surely live to rue.

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