James McAtee

Absolutely made up with this news.

Seeing local lads like Phil, Cole, Taylor, Tommy and now James - lads who’ve been with us since they were kids for the most part - commit their future to City is so much sweeter for us fans to see.

But it’s not just their commitment that’s so good to see - it’s the fact they genuinely see a clear pathway into the first team, and put their trust in the Club to develop them right.

Since the takeover, this is the one area I know most of us have been desperate to see improve. We signed superstars and legends of the Club, but some of our local identity was inevitably left behind in the process.

We’re entering a new stage, where the best local talent want to achieve their potential at City - Phil was the first, and the rest are following his path.

We should be looking forward to a first team with a mix of the best we can buy, playing alongside the best we’ve developed ourselves.

I think we’d all be happy with that!
 
Three years is a compromise I think, Palmer signed for five but James obviously wanted more evidence of a clear pathway. So this seems to suit both parties.
A year of physical growth and development will do him the world of good and if he gets opportunities and takes them, then he will no doubt be happy to extend again
 
Three years is a compromise I think, Palmer signed for five but James obviously wanted more evidence of a clear pathway. So this seems to suit both parties.
A year of physical growth and development will do him the world of good and if he gets opportunities and takes them, then he will no doubt be happy to extend again

Their contracts end at exactly the same time, and Cole only signed his last summer.

I don’t think you can read much difference into it, to be honest. Like you say - give them the opportunities, and they’ll both extend again.
 
Their contracts end at exactly the same time, and Cole only signed his last summer.

I don’t think you can read much difference into it, to be honest. Like you say - give them the opportunities, and they’ll both extend again.
Ah my bad, I thought he had signed a new deal for three years rather than extending to 2026
 
A contract for James well deserved. Had that dream to be a top professional and through his hard work is beginning to fulfill that dream. Onwards and upwards!
 
Amazing news, kind of resigned myself to him leaving but it shows clearly we’re going to incorporate more youth into the team.

Palmer, McAtee, Mbete, and then young established players like Alvarez, maybe Pedro Porro, and fingers crossed, Haaland.

What a team we’re building. just need the bald genius to sign for another 10 years.

Tbh, I think he'd rather leave now and leave us looking good for the future than in a few years with a slot of our best players the bad side of 30, like Ferguson did.
 
Absolutely great news, he has great talent, given reasonable luck he will be a huge talent for us over the next 10 years or more
 
Great news. The Academy doing its job. Will save the club millions and we get to watch great players coming through.
Exactly, even as a squad option it could save the club a fortune down the line. Rather than spending 40m on the next Ake (who I like btw) you’d ideally have somebody like Harwood Bellis or Mbete/Doyle as the fourth choice centre back in a year or two.
 

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