Manchester United are reportedly considering a shock move for Manchester City ace James McAtee, who could become the first player to leave the Cityzens for Old Trafford in 13 years.
The last player to leave Man City for United was Frederic Veseli in 2012, who ultimately left the Red Devils without making an appearance for them, despite Sir Alex Ferguson playing a key role in his signing.
Ruben Amorim is aware that he needs to make serious improvements to his squad for United to be competitive again, and the club wants to sign homegrown youngsters with high potential.
McAtee, 22, has long been touted as an exciting prospect but has struggled to break into Pep Guardiola’s starting XI this season, having made only 13 Premier League appearances so far.
According to The Telegraph, United are ‘monitoring developments around McAtee’, who could leave Man City if they press ahead with a move for Florian Wirtz or Morgan Gibbs-White this summer.
However, the Red Devils aren’t alone, with Bayer Leverkusen, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and AC Milan also said to be keeping tabs on the attacking midfielder’s situation.
Leverkusen had a loan offer, which included a £25m option to buy, rejected for McAtee last summer, but the suggestion is that Guardiola and Co could now green light his departure for the right price.
READ MORE: Amorim to ‘green light’ sales of SIX Man Utd stars with big name on hit list – report
Leverkusen in strong position to land Man City ace
TEAMtalk contributor Ben Jacobs reported on April 11th that Man City are prioritising the signing of a new attacking midfielder to replace Kevin de Bruyne, who has announced he will be leaving the Etihad as a free agent this summer.
This suggests that Guardiola doesn’t back McAtee to be the Belgian international’s successor, so the youngster could look to take on a new challenge elsewhere.
Jacobs stated in his report that Wirtz and Gibbs-White are two attacking midfield targets for the Cityzens.
We can also confirm that Leverkusen remain attentive to McAtee’s situation. Therefore, he will no doubt be a topic of conversation should Man City press ahead for their star man Wirtz.
Leverkusen are trying to convince Wirtz to sign a contract extension. If he does, it will likely include a release clause, but he will stay with Leverkusen until the end of next season at least.
But if Leverkusen fail to convince Wirtz to sign fresh terms and Man City bid for Wirtz then that situation could put them in a better situation to sign McAtee than United and other suitors.
It’s also worth noting that while Ruben Amorim is keen to sign a new attacking midfielder, a new striker is his priority.
United’s PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) situation means they need to sell players before they can splash big sums on new additions, which also puts them on the back foot in the race for McAtee. However, he could be on the move this summer and is a name for United fans to watch out for.
DON’T MISS: Man Utd striker targets: EVERY option linked for the summer 2025 transfer window
Latest Man Utd news
🔴⚫️ Man Utd at odds with Amorim on decision to sell regular starter – Sources
🔴⚫️ Tottenham planning to hijack Aston Villa’s Rashford deal after Man Utd loanee chooses next club
🔴⚫️ Man Utd to trigger TWO release clauses as Amorim’s new front three revealed
🔴⚫️ Man Utd goalkeeper targets: EVERY option linked for the summer 2025 transfer window
Man Utd quiz: Think you know Ruben Amorim?
