‘James McAtee fits in brilliantly at Nottingham Forest but teammate won’t sign’
Nottingham Forest’s style of play could be a perfect fit for James McAtee if he makes the move from Manchester City this summer.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson argued that McAtee can be an ideal replacement for the Man City-linked Morgan Gibbs-White.
McAtee has been suggested as the potential makeweight in a player-plus-cash deal to take Gibbs-White to the Etihad Stadium this summer, and City could even send Jack Grealish to the City Ground instead.
However, Robinson has told Football Insider that while Grealish wouldn’t fit in with Nuno Espirito Santo‘s counter-attacking style of play at Forest, McAtee could take to the Reds’ system like a duck to water.
A swap involving Grealish is less likely than one which would take McAtee to the East Midlands, but Robinson also told Football Insider that Forest will instead be intent on maximising Gibbs-White’s value.
McAtee a must as Forest risk new PSR penalty
Football Insider revealed on 18 May that PSR concerns could force Forest into selling Gibbs-White to Man City this summer, and that will only emphasise the Reds’ efforts to extract maximum value for him.
Speaking on the latest Inside Track, Robinson stated that the time is now for Forest to sell Gibbs-White for the highest possible fee, and acknowledged that McAtee could succeed him at the City Ground.
“McAtee fits into Nuno’s system… Forest are usually quite happy to play without the football, sit deep with pace on the counter attack”, Robinson told Football Insider.
“Jack Grealish doesn’t fit into that counter-attacking system – that’s not the type of game he wants to play – McAtee absolutely would fit.
“Gibbs-White’s a player who’s value is going to be maximised this summer – if they don’t sell him now, he’s only going to drop in value.
“With FFP and PSR – we’ve seen points deductions at Forest before – they have to toe the line very, very carefully.
“But the influx of money that [Gibbs-White’s sale] would bring, could help them restructure in the transfer window.”
Nottingham Forest ready restructure after Gibbs-White transfer
Robinson told Football Insider on 11 May that Man City are “ready to blow their whole budget” on a deal for Gibbs-White this summer, and Forest’s £100million price tag could result in them doing just that.
If Forest can collect a nine-figure fee for Gibbs-White ahead of next season’s UEFA Conference League campaign, McAtee will be near the top of their shortlist even if he’s not included in the initial transfer.
With Brentford’s Yoane Wissa also on Forest’s radar after their £40m bid in January, Gibbs-White’s sale could faciliate a transformational transfer window at the City Ground ahead of next season.