Further details of James McAtee's rejection of Leicester City revealed | OneFootball

Highlights

James McAtee managed to secure a move to Sheffield United after digging his heels in and rejecting Leicester City, according to Alan Nixon.

The Englishman spent last season on loan at Bramall Lane and although it took time for him to adapt to life in South Yorkshire, he managed to find his feet and play a valuable part in the Blades' promotion back to the Premier League.

Registering nine goals and three assists in 37 league appearances last term and also playing a part in guiding United to the FA Cup semis, he was one player the Blades' supporters didn't want to see go.

However, their chances of retaining him for another season were arguably boosted following their promotion, with his parent club Manchester City likely to have been keen to have seen the midfielder shine at the top level.

Paul Heckingbottom already knows the player inside out and with United being linked with a move for the player throughout the summer, they finally managed to get another loan deal over the line on deadline day.

How did James McAtee manage to secure a return to Sheffield United?

The Blades could only loan one of Tommy Doyle and McAtee because they couldn't loan two players from the same Premier League team.

This presented them with a dilemma, but they seemingly decided to pursue the latter in the end, although it wasn't easy for them to get a deal over the line.

This is mainly because of Man City's stance, with Pep Guardiola's side reluctant to let him go to the Blades because they may not have too much of the ball this season as likely top-flight strugglers, something that wouldn't suit McAtee's style and get the best out of him.

With this, Leicester were given hope of securing a deal for him and with former City coach Enzo Maresca in charge at the King Power Stadium, the midfielder was given permission to speak to the Foxes.

However, McAtee retained his stance by pushing for a move back to Bramall Lane, something he managed to achieve in the end.

his plea was listened to.

You can't blame McAtee for wanting to make the move back to the Blades because he has already proved himself in the second tier and won't want to stand still as he looks to establish himself as a key first-teamer for Man City in the future.

Leicester are an exceptional side and he would have developed at the King Power - but he wouldn't have been guaranteed starts considering the existing options Maresca has at his disposal.

Cesare Casadei was consigned to a place on the bench yesterday and that just reinforces the amount of depth Leicester have.