Mikel Arteta could be treated to his very own Cole Palmer (Image: Getty)
could repeat the trick that saw bag from with another one of the side’s young stars.
Palmer netted his 12th goal of the 2024/25 season against Fulham on Boxing Day, with the Englishman having flourished since arriving at Stamford Bridge.
The decision to let Palmer leave is considered one of ’s biggest mistakes as City boss, but if the Catalan isn’t careful he could be sleepwalking towards making a similar error again.
James McAtee is currently rotting away on the City bench, having played just two minutes of football in the for the Blues, with his route into the starting XI currently non-existent.
That’s despite City currently being in the midst of a record-breaking – for all the wrong reasons – run of one win in 13 matches.
Across all competitions, his minutes haven’t been much better, as McAtee has started only twice for City this term – both matches coming in the Carabao Cup.
It’s a position Palmer found himself in a couple of years ago, with the City Academy product having started two matches the season before his Etihad departure.
Both of those starts came after City had wrapped up the 2022/23 title, meaning Palmer was happy to leave the club in search of first-team football elsewhere.
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James McAtee has started just two matches all season (Image: Getty)
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It’s a path McAtee could look to follow himself and if were looking for a relatively cheap homegrown squad option, the 22-year-old could be their man.
A player doesn’t make it out of City’s Academy unless they boast genuine talent, as seen with Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Liam Delap in recent years.
And given have struggled for options in the final third, with the likes of and Martin Odeaggard having both spent time out of the side injured, the versatile McAtee could prove the perfect fit.
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Bizarrely, even though he’s been reluctant to use him this season, Guardiola has only ever spoken glowingly of McAtee.
Commenting in August, Guardiola stated: “He knows all the processes. I think his period in Sheffield [United] helped him a lot to give him value to how difficult football is. To win points. It helped him a lot.
“When you play in the small spaces, attack the goal, McAtee has this quality in small spaces. That’s why I said to Txiki I don’t want to loan him out because we need him.”