James McAtee has left Man City and joined Nottingham Forest. £30M fee

Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, the clubs have announced.

The England under-21 international moves to the City Ground after ESPN reported a deal worth up to £30 million ($40.1m) had been agreed between the Premier League clubs. City have also included a sell-on clause and buy-back option in the agreement.

McAtee, a City academy graduate, leaves the club after 12 years, four of which were in Pep Guardiola’s first team squad.

 

He has decided to stay in the Premier league despite significant interest from Bundesliga clubs.

McAtee scored seven goals in 27 appearances for City last season. But he had been eager to leave the Etihad Stadium in the transfer window in order to find more regular first-team football.

He opted against traveling with Pep Guardiola’s squad for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer in favour of representing England at the Under-21 European Championship.

James McAtee has left Manchester City after coming through the club’s academy. Visionhaus/Getty Images
McAtee, 22, spent two seasons on loan at Sheffield United while at City, scoring 14 goals and providing 8 assists in his time at Bramall Lane.

 

Newcastle boss Howe hopes Isak situation is ‘resolved quickly’

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Shaka Hislop and Mark Donaldson discuss whether they think Newcastle can cope without Alexander Isak upfront, or whether they need to start looking for a replacement. (1:59

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has said he hopes the speculation around Alexander Isak’s future at the club is “resolved quickly” after he was left out of the side’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old Sweden international is at odds with the club as he tries to push for a move to defending champion Liverpool. Howe left the striker out of the Newcastle squad for Saturday’s game at Villa Park, which finished in a 0-0 draw.

“I hope it’s resolved quickly, because it’s news around us all the time,” Howe told TNT Sports after the game. “Players have managed to shut that out and perform. We have to continue to do that.”

Isak scored 27 goals in all competitions on Tyneside last season and earned icon status among fans by scoring in the Carabao cup final against Liverpool, helping Newcastle end a 70-year trophy drought.

Meanwhile, new signing Anthony Elanga — who joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for £55 million ($74m) last month — played on the right against Villa.

 

“We would like a resolution,” Howe said. “When I say we, I’m talking about myself and I’m sure the ownership, everyone really, the players that we have, because I think we need that clarity this season.

“Any Premier League season can be hard enough. You don’t need any kind of distraction to swerve your thoughts, to unbalance what we’re doing.”

Howe had previously said that Isak’s future isn’t his decision and reiterated that view after their first Premier League game of the season.

“But I’m certainly not in control of that. And I think there’s only one person really that could control that. Nothing’s changed, the door is well and truly open. But he has to decide what he wants to do,” he said.

Alexander Isak has dominated the talk surrounding Newcastle heading into the new Premier League season. Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
“I mean, that’s the quickest way. But of course, Alex is in control of what he does. I’m not in control of him.”

When asked if Isak’s participation in the game would’ve had an impact of the result — with Newcastle failing to score against Villa’s 10-man side — Howe remained coy.

“I don’t think it’s the narrative we want to go down,” Howe said. “Because it’s easy to say, but you’ve got no way of knowing if that’s the case.

“Of course, you’re going to miss someone that scored the goals that Alex has, and not just the goals, but the calibre of player that he is. So we’re not silly enough to think any different, but we just have to look and talk about the players that are here and what they’ve given today.”

Newcastle’s next game is at home to Liverpool on Aug. 25.

“It’s always spicy against Liverpool, there’s a history to the fixture, we look forward to it. We know how good they are,” he said.