West Ham and Crystal Palace race Nottingham Forest for 'exceptional' January transfer

Crystal Palace and West Ham are in a transfer race against Premier League rivals Brentford and Nottingham Forest to snap up Manchester City talent James McAtee in January as the upcoming transfer window edges ever closer.

That's according to The Telegraph, with the outlet also naming Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Fiorentina and Bologna all as potential suitors for the 22-year-old. McAtee turned heads in recent loan spells at Sheffield United but has struggled for minutes at Manchester City this season.

The winger is clearly not part of Pep Guardiola's immediate plans in the North West despite the Champions' poor run of form. Manchester City have now won just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions.

McAtee has made eight appearances so far this term but has played just 333 minutes. His outings have come largely in the Champions League and Carabao Cup with just two one-minute cameos in the Premier League.

The Telegraph predicts a 'battle' for Manchester City to keep hold of McAtee in January, despite Guardiola fighting hard to hold onto the player this summer with interest in his services. The attacking midfielder spent both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns on loan at Sheffield United, scoring 14 goals for the club.

Praising the player last December as he impressed for the Blades, Micah Richards said: “Where’s he from? Where’s he from?

“The way he moves, the guile on him, you can tell he’s been brought up the correct way, can’t we? Always looking to get on the ball, lovely, both-footed but his strike was exceptional.”

Crystal Palace are in the market for attacking reinforcements next month having managed to score just 18 Premier League goals so far this season. Only Southampton, Ipswich Town and Everton have managed fewer so far this term with the Eagles missing the impetus of Michael Olise.

Meanwhile, the Hammers have been somewhat goal-shy with summer signing Niclas Fullkrug seeing progression hampered by injury and Mohammed Kudus linked with a potential move to Arsenal. Julen Lopetegui's side have scored more than one goal on just four occasions so far this season.

McAtee tipped to follow in footsteps of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers

Earlier this week, Football Insider reported that Manchester City's reluctance to let McAtee leave comes after seeing the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers flourish having left the Etihad Stadium recently. Former Manchester United scout Mick Brown told the outlet: “There are a lot of interested clubs after his loan spell at Sheffield United. He benefited a lot from that move, and then training with the top players at City will have helped develop his game even without playing.

“But now he’s going to look to leave City in January, because he needs to play regular football. That’s the next stage for his growth as a player, to make that move away and test himself.

“From City’s point of view, they might be worried because of what the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have done since they left. So I understand they’ve been reluctant to let him go, but if he’s not going to play, he could push for the move because he has got to play football.“