According to recent reports, another midfielder from Manchester City has attracted the interest of Spanish giants FC Barcelona. He joins a long list of midfielders which includes Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Ilkay Gundogan Barcelona have been linked in the recent past.
The midfielder in question is Manchester City’s upcoming youngster James Mcatee.
The 19-year old midfielder has 18 months left on his contract and has several other European giants registering an interest in him, including Manchester United, Ajax, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid.
The 19-year-old made his senior debut in the 6-1 Carabao Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers and has been putting up some really impressive performances in the Under-23s over the last year and a half.
Having already declined an offer from Brighton over the summer, Manchester City might struggle to keep the interest from European elite clubs at bay if they don’t put pen to paper on a new contract for the “Salford Silva” (nicknamed due to his similarity in playing style to City legend and Spaniard David Silva)
Manchester City have one of the best youth academies in England right now and have academy stars fighting for a spot in Pep Guardiola’s eleven. Due to this, Manchester City are working hard to tie these players up to new long-term deals.
Striker Liam Delap and recent breakout star Cole Palmer both recently committed their futures to the club until 2026.
What can Guardiola and Manchester City do in this situation? Should they give Mcatee a heavier pay raise to keep at the Etihad or should they give him more first-team minutes, showing him that a viable pathway is available at Manchester City?
Or should they let him go and include a buy-back clause in his contract like they have done with other young players, so if he ever reaches his potential they can buy him back?