87 | James McAtee - 2024/25

blueparrot said:
Not really if he plays it will be a 10, in that position if Alvarez goes he only really has Foden and KDB ahead of him. Only needs a KDB injury and he’s second in line.
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I agree 10 is his position but all Pep players have to be flexible, if he's getting minutes it's not always going to be as a 10. Out wide will be an option for him. Im working on alvarez staying here until hes not, we'd have a 5 a side team if we believed all the rumours about players leaving this summer.

You really think if kdb, foden and Alvarez are all unavailable, he's starting mcatee as the 10? That's not happening whilst any of kovacic, bernardo, grealish, doku, and now bobb are on the bench and can probably add Nunes and savio on to that list but I accept that's not a certainty at this point. He would shift others around to get those players into the team before he's starting Mcatee.
 
domalino said:
Loans for players we want to keep are more about improving weak areas and instilling the right attitudes than showing the players off at their best.

McAtee is not a worse footballer for going to Sheffield United, but he would have learned a lot about the level he has to be at day in day out from playing 30 PL games, he will have learned from staying at the same club for 2 different seasons and seeing the level go up, becoming a bigger part of the dressing room, seeing a change of manager.

He’ll have learned a lot about work off the ball, playing under immense pressure in front of a huge crowd. He’ll also have toughened up physical and probably put a decent amount of weight on.

IMO to say he went backwards or even stagnated is ridiculous. He’s already got all the technical skill from 10+ years in the city system and a few years training regularly with the first team, what stopped him from walking into our squad last season was all the stuff that a PL will have addressed.

IIRC last season it was his decision to leave and not play a role similar to Bobb, so he might even have taken from it that football at the bottom of the table can be a bit shit and starting for a relegation candidate is not better than being a squad player at the best team in the world.
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Spanish Dave went to Eibar & came back to Valencia a tough little bastard to quote his old coach Mendilibar. Getting on the ball in a poor team is an important skill & one the academy doesn’t help with.
 
It's been done to death on here but his loan to Sheffield United has turned him from boy to man. I think it's strange to suggest it was a waste of time or failure.

He wouldn't have got those minutes at City and now he's equipped to play Premier League football. He already had the skill and talent.

It took him a little bit of time to find confidence on Tour and impose himself. However, once he played to his potential (Pep's words) against Chelsea he looked excellent.

A top talent and he should make it here. If he doesn't he's worth £40m - as I've said in another thread.
 
I really rate McAtee - his football IQ is obviously very high
His comments about not being worried about playing time were encouraging but I do think he’s at the stage where he needs to be getting regular football. He’s probably one a few that will be hoping we have deep runs in the Carabao/FA Cup

I always feel like Pep is harsher on the younger lads too and whilst I don’t doubt the ability for a moment as Pep doesn’t just give out praise. I do think it’s easier for Pep to drop them instead of a new signing so it will be interesting. We all know Pep loves small squads

I think we’ll keep him but I’m not discounting a bid for him before the window ends. It will be interesting to see his reaction
 
Otamendi's Beard said:
It's been done to death on here but his loan to Sheffield United has turned him from boy to man. I think it's strange to suggest it was a waste of time or failure.

He wouldn't have got those minutes at City and now he's equipped to play Premier League football. He already had the skill and talent.

It took him a little bit of time to find confidence on Tour and impose himself. However, once he played to his potential (Pep's words) against Chelsea he looked excellent.

A top talent and he should make it here. If he doesn't he's worth £40m - as I've said in another thread.
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I agree. He got regular game time in the premier league, which he needed. If he had stayed at city he wouldn’t have played enough and if he’d gone to Leicester posters would argue he doesn’t have premier league experience
 
blueparrot said:
Not really if he plays it will be a 10, in that position if Alvarez goes he only really has Foden and KDB ahead of him. Only needs a KDB injury and he’s second in line.
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'only KDB and Foden.'

They're two of the best players in the league. As I said, if he's happy just playing a game here or there, that's great, but for his good, he should be playing as much as he can currently. Ultimately, it's up to him.
 
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