James McAtee first words after Man City exit as £30m Nottingham Forest transfer confirmed

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Manchester City have confirmed the sale of James McAtee to Nottingham Forest

James McAtee has left Manchester City for Nottingham Forest

James McAtee has completed a £30million move from Manchester City to Nottingham Forest.

The 22-year-old will leave the Blues after coming through the academy but is staying in the Premier League with Forest.

And McAtee said he is ready for a fresh start after ending his long association with City.

Speaking to Forest club media, he said: “I feel ready for a new challenge and the club had a great season last year so I want to help build on that and show what I can do.

“I’m so happy to be here and really looking forward to getting started with my new teammates and I know the ambition of everyone associated with the club which is something I want to be a part of.”

Forest Chief Football Officer Ross Wilson said: “It goes without saying that we’re absolutely delighted to welcome James to Nottingham Forest.

"He’s a player we’ve admired for a long time, and our conversations with Manchester City, James, his family and his representatives over the past month have been incredibly constructive.

“After captaining England to the U21 European Championship title, James took some time to reflect on his next step - and we’re thrilled he’s chosen Forest. We are proud to now have three extremely exciting young talents from the group that lifted the U21 EURO trophy with Elliot, Omari and now James.

“There was strong interest in James, but he showed a real determination to join us. Our players have been excited about the possibility of him arriving, and now we can officially welcome him into the group.”

McAtee shone as a youngster at City, helping them to win the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 12 years in 2020 before being named the Premier League 2 Player of the Year in 2022. His senior debut came a year earlier against Manchester United, with his performance leaving pundit Gary Neville to gush about the 'David Silva clones' being produced in the academy.

Two years on loan at Sheffield United followed before McAtee returned to the Etihad determined to break into Pep Guardiola's first team and stay there. He would end the season with seven goals - only four players managed more - but was left out of the squad for the FA Cup final and last Premier League game despite the manager saying publicly he should have used him more often.

City's decision to allow McAtee to go to the Under-21 European Championship rather than the Club World Cup signalled the end of his career with the Blues, although that competition saw his stock lifted higher. He captained England to glory and was named player of the match in the win over Spain in the final.

A number of German clubs were interested in signing McAtee and a move to the Bundesliga looked on the cards at one point, but those clubs were put off by a hefty valuation from City; multiple bids of around £25m were rejected for a player with one year left on his contract, with City wanting closer to £40m.

Forest stayed at the negotiating table though and were able to whittle City down to a total package of £30m. City head to Forest on December 27, with the return fixture at the Etihad on March 4.

It marks the second major knockdown of the summer, with Como securing Maximo Perrone for a fee of £13m when the Blues had been asking for £25m.