Leeds United‘s ambitions to sign James McAtee on loan may have been scuppered further after it was revealed a third Premier League club is interested in the Manchester City player.
McAtee, who spent two seasons with Sheffield United and won promotion with them, had previously been linked with a January loan move to Elland Road as Daniel Farke continues to target an attacking midfield signing.
Third Premier League Side Enter The Fray
According to Edmund Brack of the South London Press, Crystal Palace are interested in a permanent move for the 22-year-old in January. Previous links for McAtee for a move to West Ham had previously been mooted but as a deal for the summer, although there are conflicting reports in The Guardian with Fulham also named.
McAtee has played just once for City in the Premier League this season amidst an injury crisis for Pep Guardiola’s champions after being a near-constant fixture in a Blades side that was relegated back into the second tier.
Palace have been struggling to match last season’s highs under Oliver Glasner, and find themselves in the relegation scrap after 12 games played. The German made a move to reunite him with former player Daichi Kamada over the summer, but that move has been somewhat of a disappointment.
Leeds are still in the market for an attacking midfielder since missing out on one over the summer, with Brendan Aaronson the only player who is a natural number 10. Space looks to be opening up for a new player to arrive at Elland Road amidst links of a Joe Gelhardt loan exit in January.
Writer’s View
Leeds’ chances may have taken a bigger dent with the emergence of Crystal Palace as a rival for James McAtee. They seem to be ready to bid for him in the transfer window and that will certainly price United out of a deal they targeted as a loan move. Palace’s track record with young talents like Blackburn Rovers‘ Adam Wharton and Queens Park Rangers‘ Ebereche Eze cannot go unnoticed for a player like McAtee and they do seem like a favourite in this battle. Daniel Farke will have to look elsewhere for an attacking midfielder.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
