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Nottingham Forest are reportedly targeting Manchester City's James McAtee as a potential replacement for Morgan Gibbs-White, with the 22-year-old midfielder on their summer wishlist.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side are looking to bolster their attacking options ahead of their historic return to European competition after a 29-year absence. The Reds secured seventh place in the Premier League last term and earned their Europa League spot after FA Cup winners Crystal Palace were relegated to the Conference League due to UEFA's multi-club ownership regulations.
Despite their European qualification, Forest have been relatively quiet in the transfer market, making only two senior additions with striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha arriving from Botafogo, whilst winger Anthony Elanga departed for Newcastle in a £55million deal. Gibbs-White's future remains uncertain, with Tottenham circling the England international as they look to bring him to north London, reports the Mirror.
Spurs submitted a £60million offer for the midfielder that triggered his release clause, though Forest have alleged an "illegal approach" and the transfer remains stalled. With Gibbs-White potentially heading for the exit door, Forest are reportedly eyeing McAtee as his replacement, according to the Telegraph. The report suggests City have placed a £35million price tag on the promising playmaker.
It's understood that the Citizens are using Cole Palmer's £42.5million switch to Chelsea in 2023 as their valuation benchmark for McAtee, with Forest facing stiff competition from West Ham, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. McAtee featured 27 times for City last term, though only nine were from the starting XI, with boss Pep Guardiola acknowledging the youngster may need to depart in pursuit of regular football.
Speaking back in April, Guardiola said: "I didn't allow him to play minutes so I cannot ask anything from the players who don't play a lot of minutes. They could do better? No. Macca has this quality, the ability to create.
"He is there. The game worked better against Palace, you create chances. Macca close to the box is quite similar to Phil. They are there, a sense. It's difficult to train, to make that movement because the ball is coming. If he plays minutes he will score.
"For the age, I'd like him to stay. But I understand the players want more minutes. I would like him to stay, he's a player for the academy, he knows the patterns. He's a lovely person and trained really good. He can play different positions but I don't know how the squad will be and we will see."
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