Leeds United transfer target 'yet to receive' a new contract offer - £10m discount mooted

James McAtee’s future is looking increasingly likely to be away from Manchester City and reports suggest he could be available in a cut-price deal compared to previous windows.

McAtee re-emerged as a possible summer target for Leeds last weekend, with The Sunday Mirror naming them as one of five clubs to have ‘made enquiries’ regarding the 22-year-old. Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace were also named but the report suggested more than a dozen potential suitors were keeping tabs in the situation.

Manchester City have previously been reluctant to lose McAtee but after another season on the fringes, and with a busy summer of investment planned at the Etihad, their stance appears to have softened. Reports have suggested they would be open to a sale and now the Manchester Evening News expands on how much that could cost.

According to the report, McAtee is yet to receive any offer of fresh contract terms at City, with his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2026. That leaves Etihad chiefs with a predicament, with the upcoming window their last chance to cash in before the academy graduate’s value diminishes significantly.

Leeds United could receive huge transfer discount on James McAtee

City are said to have rejected previous offers worth up to £30m for McAtee when he had longer on his contract, but the Manchester Evening News now suggest as little as £20m could be enough to get a deal over the line. And that discount would only grow larger if a sale were to go ahead in January, while the England youth international could leave for free in around 12 months.

The report also echoes previous suggestions of interest from Elland Road, with Leeds labelled a ‘genuine option’ for McAtee, particularly if he wants a realistic shot at regular football. Nottingham Forest and Bayer Leverkusen are also named as opportunities for European football, adding that City’s interest in Morgan Gibbs-White and Florian Wirtz from Forest and Leverkusen respectively could sway a deal.

City have been heavily linked with interest in both and are expected to spend big this summer in a bid to rejuvenate Guardiola’s struggling squad, with the opportunity there to use McAtee as a makeweight, therefore reducing the cash amount they’d have to spend. Such deals are rare in modern football, however, due to the amount of moving parts.

McAtee will not be short of options regardless and will no doubt see the form of Cole Palmer at Chelsea as inspiration, with his former City academy teammate moving to Chelsea in a £42.5m deal almost two years ago. He has since become the main man at Stamford Bridge and broken into the England senior team, something McAtee is yet to achieve.

Should Leeds pursue a move and face competition from the likes of Forest or Leverkusen, they might hope a more realistic chance of becoming a main man like Palmer hands them an advantage. But there will be plenty of competition from elsewhere too.

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