James McAtee thrives in deeper role as Oliver Glasner reshapes Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

James McAtee has been recast by Oliver Glasner as a deeper midfielder, and the 23-year-old is now among the first names on the teamsheet after an uncertain pre-season.

According to Nottingham Post, his run in that position has pushed the club to deprioritise further midfield signings. He took player of the match in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool and impressed in the stalemate with Tottenham Hotspur.

Against Spurs he won all three tackles and completed 25 of 30 passes, a clear step up on his first two league outings. He is embracing extra responsibility, even collecting a booking amid four fouls.

It follows a challenging debut season after his £30 million switch from Manchester City, including a half-time withdrawal in the FA Cup loss at Wrexham under Sean Dyche. Initially earmarked as competition for Morgan Gibbs-White in the No.10 role, he has instead flourished deeper in Glasner’s 3-4-2-1.

Glasner has spoken of players surprising him and says the system tweak gives McAtee more freedom than a No.6 in a back four. Forest signed free agent Xaver Schlager and weighed other midfielders, including Harrison Armstrong and Trey Nyoni, yet McAtee’s rise meant replacing Elliot Anderson, sold to Manchester City for £116 million, was no longer the top priority.

Across three league games he has 106 passes, second only to Murillo, and a squad-high three through-balls. His expected assists rate, 0.63, trails only Dan Ndoye.

End product remains a target after one goal last season against Ferencvaros in the Europa League.

Source: Nottingham Post

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