James McAtee likely to complete move as Nottingham Forest work on £21.3m replacement – verdict

Nottingham Forest’s interest in Mauricio surely means that flop James McAtee will leave the City Ground this summer.

Reports have indicated that the Tricky Trees are interested in the Palmeiras attacking midfielder, valued at between £18.7million  and £22.3m.

If he comes through the door, he will likely remain as a backup to Morgan Gibbs-White.

Therefore, with McAtee’s game time likely to be reduced further, an exit feels inevitable.

The 23-year-old struggled for minutes in the Premier League last season after his summer move from Manchester City.

The attacking midfielder has been linked with an exit this summer, and this should now become a reality.

Nottingham Forest clearly looking to replace James McAtee

McAtee was clearly not up to standard at Nottingham Forest last season.

Overall, he picked up just one goal contribution in 14 matches in the Premier League, and only started two games.

Not one of Forest’s four managers could find a way to get the best out of the attacking midfielder, and this would likely continue under Oliver Glasner.

Therefore, the interest in Mauricio, reported by Diego Firmino, indicates that Forest plans on replacing McAtee as the back-up attacking midfielder.

If the Paraguayan international is signed, it makes McAtee’s departure even more inevitable.

The 23-year-old will not want to sit on the bench for another campaign and pick up even fewer minutes, which is why it makes sense for all parties to move on as soon as possible this transfer window.

How bad was McAtee last season?

When McAtee did get time on the pitch last season, he wasn’t awful.

According to Fotmob on 10 July, per 90 minutes, he was averaging 0.31 assists, a 0.11 xA, 1.87 chances created, 0.93 successful dribbles and 9.97 defensive contributions.

Therefore, when given a chance to shine, he was able to contribute at both ends of the pitch, particularly defensively for the East Midlands club.

Luckily, for Forest, this should go in their favour when trying to find a new club for McAtee this summer.

However, it remains to be seen if the club are able to rid the attacker over the coming months as Glasner looks to build a team capable of challenging for Europe once more.