Have Nottingham Forest found an unexpected solution to the Elliot Anderson void? | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest may have found an in-house answer to the Elliot Anderson void, with James McAtee impressing in a deeper role under Oliver Glasner during a 2-1 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen. According to NY Times, the head coach views the 23-year-old as a potential option while recruitment continues.

A year after a £30million move, McAtee, who captained England Under-21s to European glory, remained largely on the fringes. With Morgan Gibbs-White in the No 10 role, he started only two Premier League games and made 12 substitute appearances under four different head coaches.

Since taking over, Glasner has worked with him on playing deeper, building on summer strength work. He believes McAtee can control the rhythm, judge when to go forward or keep the ball, reads the game well and has shown notable work rate and physicality, including robust tackling.

Against Leverkusen, his corners were consistently threatening, with Ryan Yates close to scoring from a header. McAtee won the ball to carve out a deflected effort and whipped a curling delivery from the right that narrowly evaded Callum Hudson-Odoi and almost crept in at the far post. He demanded the ball and played with visible confidence.

Nico Dominguez was lively alongside him after the break. Before half-time, Xaver Schlager impressed, dovetailing with Ibrahim Sangare as both disrupted play. Glasner favours the 3-4-2-1 with two No 8s, a left and a right footer, and Yates has stood out in the back three as captain.

Forest still hope to add a midfielder before the window shuts. They have not given up on a more direct Anderson replacement, though top target Tijjani Reijnders looks set for Al Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, and interest in Lucas Bergvall persists despite Tottenham rejecting a bid. McAtee could yet be the surprise solution.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”