Nottingham Forest have signed midfielder, James McAtee from Manchester City for £30m.
McAtee’s move has brought a 12-year spell at Man City to a close after he graduated through their youth academy to score seven goals in 34 senior appearances, as he now chases regular first-team football at Forest after a successful UEFA Under-21 Euro with England.
Forest have agreed a £30m total package which will consist of a £22m fixed fee plus £8m in add-ons, whilst City have inserted sell-on and buy-back clauses into the deal.
McAtee is excited to make the move and take on a new chapter in his career.
“I feel ready for a new challenge and the Club had a great season last year so I want to help build on that and show what I can do.
“I’m so happy to be here and really looking forward to getting started with my new teammates and I know the ambition of everyone associated with the Club which is something I want to be a part of.”
Forest’s Director of Football, Ross Wilson added: “It goes without saying that we’re absolutely delighted to welcome James to Nottingham Forest. He’s a player we’ve admired for a long time, and our conversations with Manchester City, James, his family and his representatives over the past month have been incredibly constructive.
“After captaining England to the U21 European Championship title, James took some time to reflect on his next step – and we’re thrilled he’s chosen Forest. We are proud to now have three extremely exciting young talents from the group that lifted the U21 EURO trophy with Elliot, Omari and now James.
“There was strong interest in James, but he showed a real determination to join us. Our players have been excited about the possibility of him arriving, and now we can officially welcome him into the group.”
McAtee began his career at City where he graduated through their youth academy and was part of their 2019-20 FA Youth Cup title-winning squad, in which he scored their equaliser in an eventual 3-2 victory against Chelsea in the final.
He went on to make a debut senior substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup’s third-round as City won 6-1 against Wycombe at home in September 2021, before he made his Premier League bow two months later in a 3-0 home win over Everton.
McAtee subsequently spent the 22-23 & 23-24 seasons on loan at Sheffield United where he managed 14 goals in 75 appearances, amidst a brief substitute appearance for City in their 23-24 season-opening victory at Burnley before he returned to Bramall Lane.
Last season saw McAtee return to Man City where he delivered seven goals in 27 appearances.
McAtee is currently part of England’s Under-21s squad which won this summer’s UEFA U21 Euro title in a successful title defence. during which he scored the opening goal in their Quarter-Final victory over Spain.
Confirmation of McAtee’s arrival came just hours after Forest signed Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich.
Leave a Reply