87 | James McAtee - 2024/25

[Cobra]

Do we reckon he's staying?

I really like his game, but I can't see when he'll play. At times last season, Kovacic and Nunes both struggled to get minutes, and that was with KDB and Haaland missing half of the season.

There’s definitely minutes available - there are more Champions League games this season, the possibility of going further in the League Cup and there is also the Club World Cup at the end of the season. Alvarez looks likely to leave (3400 mins last season) and Foden probably needs his minutes reduced a bit too (well over 4000 last season).

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

He just needs to be given a chance and the fans need to be patient with him. He has all the talent in the world to be a top player.

For me he’s one of the best young players to come out of the academy. Let’s save ourselves 50m.

 

[Saddleworth2]

A season training with Pep will give him another step change. Let’s keep him and watch him flourish.

 

[arbabarshad]

Could he replace Bernardo over time?

 

[Dawsenna]

I think the Sheffield United loan last season set him back really don’t know what the thinking was sending him back there knowing how much they’d struggle

 

[decmancity]

I think the Sheffield United loan last season set him back really don’t know what the thinking was sending him back there knowing how much they’d struggle

He forced it.

 

[Lauz9888]

I think the Sheffield United loan last season set him back really don’t know what the thinking was sending him back there knowing how much they’d struggle

You can learn a lot from a struggle. It may have given him some extra grit and a positive approach to set-backs. And he might have felt he owed them a season in the Prem.

Just seen Pep say that both McAtee and O'Reilly will be first team options this season. I'm really glad.

 

[Dawsenna]

He forced it.

True it was really late on in the window I suppose so maybe he panicked

 

[decmancity]

True it was really late on in the window I suppose so maybe he panicked

He just wanted the comfort of a team he had already performed in, knew the club and so on. Not a bad thing and thankfully he seemingly isn't too scarred. Plenty of time to make it up now.

 

[Akira]

Just seen Pep say that both McAtee and O'Reilly will be first team options this season. I'm really glad.

Happy to hear Pep say that. Looks like we are refreshing the squad a little with younger options. Instead of signing swaths of new faces, we will try to rely on our EDS products.

 

[Mike N]

I think the Sheffield United loan last season set him back really don’t know what the thinking was sending him back there knowing how much they’d struggle

It really did. Had a loan deal agreed at Leicester and chose to go back to a team that would have 30% of the ball. Madness.

Anyway hope he stays with us this season.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Happy to hear Pep say that. Looks like we are refreshing the squad a little with younger options. Instead of signing swaths of new faces, we will try to rely on our EDS products.

I don't think we will be relying on them, they'll just make up the numbers and hopefully improve training with Pep and the 1st team every day.

Importantly after listening to him speak earlier in the tour, I think he himself knows this and after seeing players like bobb and Rico Lewis do that and now are eventually pushing their way into more game time, he's seen a route he could potentially replicate.

Mcatee will replace gomez this season as the man to throw on when the game is won and he wants to save somebody's legs, he'll likely feature for us in half a dozen different positions as he does that role. He'll get chances to impress in league cup games and the dead rubber champions league games.

 

[Jonas.shaffer]

I think the Sheffield United loan last season set him back really don’t know what the thinking was sending him back there knowing how much they’d struggle

Sheffield United fans were saying he was playing great, IIRC, then he seemingly fell out of the starting XI.

 

[Txiki Txiki Bang Bang]

I don't think we will be relying on them, they'll just make up the numbers and hopefully improve training with Pep and the 1st team every day.

Importantly after listening to him speak earlier in the tour, I think he himself knows this and after seeing players like bobb and Rico Lewis do that and now are eventually pushing their way into more game time, he's seen a route he could potentially replicate.

Mcatee will replace gomez this season as the man to throw on when the game is won and he wants to save somebody's legs, he'll likely feature for us in half a dozen different positions as he does that role. He'll get chances to impress in league cup games and the dead rubber champions league games.

They're not making up the numbers. Everyone of the breakout players is a game changer and they have all proven it in the preseason games. They wouldn't replace the old guards right away but they would make valuable contributions to the coming season

 

[wolviedinho]

With a squad packed full of talent I see no reason why Mcatee, Bobb, Rico and O’Reilly can’t find some minutes.

There will be many times the season where we will need to cover injuries.

Rely on the academy this season. No need to spend unless a truly world class player becomes available.

 

[come-on-barney]

Really didn’t think Mcatee would make it here, and would be loaned out or sold. The game last night made me think depending on this season he could. He played well, and think with better players around him, he could start to influence games. Think he lacks a bit of sel confidence but that will come, just needs time.

 

[ninjamonkey]

They're not making up the numbers. Everyone of the breakout players is a game changer and they have all proven it in the preseason games. They wouldn't replace the old guards right away but they would make valuable contributions to the coming season

He will be, just as Gomez did, like Bobb did last season, as rico has done previously, thats the journey most academy players take unless you're phil foden and jump the gun.

He's got kdb, foden, Alvarez, Nunes all looking to play in the 8/10 role, there's bernardo who is likely to be deeper but can also do it, then you've got doku, savio, bobb and grealish as the wingers and all of them are likely to get the nod ahead of him as a 10 if all the first group of names were unavailable.

If we simplify things and say we typically play with 3 across the line behind a striker and 2 behind, we havent seen him there but im going to assume mcatee could potentially fill the wide roles too rather than just the central role, so hes got 3 spots to aim for, he's got 9 players ahead of him for those roles. It will take a significant injury pile up for him to play a role greater than just making up the numbers.

 

[blueparrot]

He will be, just as Gomez did, like Bobb did last season, as rico has done previously, thats the journey most academy players take unless you're phil foden and jump the gun.

He's got kdb, foden, Alvarez, Nunes all looking to play in the 8/10 role, there's bernardo who is likely to be deeper but can also do it, then you've got doku, savio, bobb and grealish as the wingers and all of them are likely to get the nod ahead of him as a 10 if all the first group of names were unavailable.

If we simplify things and say we typically play with 3 across the line behind a striker and 2 behind, we havent seen him there but im going to assume mcatee could potentially fill the wide roles too rather than just the central role, so hes got 3 spots to aim for, he's got 9 players ahead of him for those roles. It will take a significant injury pile up for him to play a role greater than just making up the numbers.

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.

 

[yankblue]

Really didn’t think Mcatee would make it here, and would be loaned out or sold. The game last night made me think depending on this season he could. He played well, and think with better players around him, he could start to influence games. Think he lacks a bit of sel confidence but that will come, just needs time.

I do think he's got the quality - I have nothing to back this up, but he just seems like the type of player/has the type of game that would really only shine in a better team. No disrespect to Sheffield, but I just don't think the way they play was ever going to allow him to flourish

 

[domalino]

It really did. Had a loan deal agreed at Leicester and chose to go back to a team that would have 30% of the ball. Madness.

Anyway hope he stays with us this season.

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 physically 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 loan 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.