It was always there to make assets and sell them. There was never even the smallest inkling of belief we'd make a 1st team player. The maths is simple. Please disagree if you see fit.
1. City are already, or permanently aspire to be, in the top 10 club sides in world football. Agree?
2. Those squads are 25 in number, so there are 250 players in total, and the number of players age 18 who graduate into those squads from whatever academy in any year is probably no more than 10. Agree?
3. So here's the reality, of all the football academies across the globe, of which there are thousands, there are only 10 players worldwide, who are graduating to the standard that a top 10 team like City would require. Agree?
4. That means, the reality is, that we would be fortunate to generate perhaps even 1 player in every 20 years, who is truly of the class that he can complete his career within one of those top 10 teams. That's a mathematical fact!
Some may say Foden is that one? Others may question whether he can do it for a full career like a Silva or Aguero type? One thing for certain is Rico Lewis is not that one player, but perhaps Palmer was and we never saw it!
Feeling bad about losing McAtee is probably based more on the fact that few of our current squad, if made available for sale, would generate any interest from the other top 9 teams, and that is 100% proof that our club's standing has drifted terribly in the last few seasons.