Barnsley have announced the signing of 24-year-old attacking midfielder John McAtee on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit Luton Town.
McAtee signed for the Hatters in 2022 from Grimsby Town, although immediately returned to the Lincolnshire side on loan as a part of the deal. His move to Barnsley is his first step in League One and he will be hoping that he can help the Tykes secure promotion to the Championship.
McAtee, who was an unused substitute for Luton Town in their first Premier League game, started his career at Shrewsbury Town but he only made two appearances for the club. He spent most of his early years in men’s football on loan to sixth and seventh-division clubs such as Halesowen Town, Curzon Ashton and AFC Telford United, where he gained invaluable experience.
He then linked up with Paul Hurst, the manager who gave him his Shrewsbury debut, at Scunthorpe United for the 2019/20 season. It was McAtee’s first full season in the football league and he made 19 league appearances whilst scoring two goals and registering three assists. The following season, the midfielder made 30 league appearances, scoring one goal and registering two assists, but this perhaps doesn’t tell the full story. Despite making eleven more league appearances, McAtee only played about 300 more minutes and wasn’t able to nail down a place as a regular starter.
This led the then 22-year-old to drop into the National League with Grimsby Town to reunite with Hurst for the third time. The move proved to be a good one as he scored 16 goals across 39 appearances as Grimsby won promotion. McAtee was named both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year at the end of that season and it prompted Luton Town to lure him to Kenilworth Road. He had another impressive season upon his return to the Mariners as he found the back of the net four times and registered four more assists in 26 league appearances, whilst also playing a role in their famous march to the FA Cup quarter final.
Writer’s View
Paul Hurst has shown a lot of faith in McAtee throughout his fairly short career but he will now have to prove his worth with a different and slightly less experienced manager by his side in Neil Collins. The playmaker will be hoping to stay injury-free and replicate his form with Grimsby to prove his worth at a higher level, which I think he is mentally strong enough and technically gifted enough to succeed at.
There will be lots of competition for places in the Barnsley side but McAtee’s versatility should allow him to get regular minutes as he could play alongside star frontman Devante Cole or just behind the strikers in a more creative role.
John’s younger brother, James, looks set to be given a chance in Manchester City’s first-team squad this season and I see no reason why both McAtee brothers couldn’t line up against each other in the Premier League next season, as long as John can get a good number of minutes under his belt.
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