James McAtee lifts lid on Manchester City challenges and Pep Guardiola stance on exit | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest and England U21 international James McAtee has reflected upon the circumstances leading to his £30 million move to Nottingham Forest this summer.

McAtee struggled for regular minutes for Manchester City last term and after Pep Guardiola urged the 23-year-old to stake a claim in the senior squad upon his return from a series of loans at Sheffield United, the Salford-born star was patient and stayed put to assess his chances at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City underwent their most challenging season under Guardiola last term as the Blues failed to mount a challenge for the Premier League title, crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lost the 2025 FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

The Blues were clearly lacking legs and inspiration in midfield and Guardiola sticking to his guns and maintaining his faith in his senior players in the first half of the 2024-25 campaign saw McAtee push for a January exit.

McAtee was given a fair shot at making a name for himself in the starting XI in the business end of the season and despite the England U21 star’s impressive displays, it was too little, too late to convince bosses at the Etihad Stadium that he had a long-term future at the club.

Equally, McAtee knew it was time for a new challenge as he explored his options and mulled over his club future towards the end of the recent season. Speaking in an interview with Four Four Two, the Manchester City academy graduate has candidly reflected on the events of the summer.

“I kind of knew it when I had to make the choice to go to the (U21) Euros,” McAtee said. I’m getting older now, it was time to play and get my name out there.

“Leaving my childhood club was tough, but I think we both (McAtee and Guardiola) knew it was the right time and the right thing to do. It wasn’t a tough decision in the end. Most people know it was the right one.”

McAtee was heavily linked with a potential transfer to the Bundesliga as clubs such as Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen expressed interest and reportedly held talks with the attacking midfielder’s representatives.

“Some of the clubs mentioned were just social media talk, I only heard of a few clubs, but Germany was a big option for me,” McAtee added.

“I went out to Germany and it was impressive but my heart wanted to stay in the Premier League and try to prove myself here (in England).”

McAtee is set to come up against his boyhood club in December when Manchester City, who are vying for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons, will face Nottingham Forest, who have made a turbulent start to the season on and off the pitch, having sacked Ange Postecoglou as manager and replaced him with Sean Dyche in October.