Chelsea have seemingly suffered a blow in their pursuit of a 21-year-old admired by new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Since succeeding Mauricio Pochettino as Blues boss in June, Maresca has welcomed six new arrivals to Stamford Bridge, including four aged 20 and under, as Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital continue to stick with their transfer policy of recruiting young and exciting prospects.
Nineteen-year-old left-back Caleb Wiley is Chelsea's newest recruit from Atlanta United, while 18-year-old pair Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu, as well as 20-year-old Renato Veiga, have also completed permanent moves to West London.
Chelsea are expected to continue bolstering their squad ahead of the 2024-25 season, and Maresca has been tipped to make moves for familiar faces having already lured Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall away from Leicester City.
Before his year-long spell in charge of Leicester, Maresca spent time as a youth team coach at Manchester City before becoming an assistant under manager Pep Guardiola.
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Guardiola intends to keep Chelsea-linked McAtee
Maresca worked closely with one of the Citizens' brightest prospects James McAtee and it was reported earlier this month that Chelsea hold an interest in negotiating a deal for the 21-year-old.
McAtee has spent the last two seasons on loan at Sheffield United, chipping in with 14 goals and eight assists in 75 appearances as well as winning their Young Player of the Year award in 2022-23, but the versatile midfielder has now returned to his parent club Man City.
Interested suitors in McAtee, including Chelsea, now appear to have suffered a blow in their pursuit of the youngster, as Guardiola has confirmed that he intends to integrate the "special" academy star into his first-team squad.
"I am curious to see Macca (McAtee) especially after coming back from Sheffield United," Guardiola said at a press conference ahead of Man City's pre-season friendly against Celtic in North Carolina on Wednesday.
"We have a high opinion of him. I would love to have him next season with us - he can play in the small spaces in the pockets.
"I think he grew up in terms of physicality and has played for a team fighting relegation and when you do this you get something special. I know him well and know his potential - he has to play good for himself and the team."
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McAtee: 'It's good to be back at Man City'
Last Friday, McAtee reflected on his second loan spell at Sheffield United and believes that the lessons he learned from the Blades' challenging 2023-24 campaign, which ended with relegation to the Championship, will stand him in good stead going forward.
"We had a tough season, but it's a lesson I've learned," McAtee told mancity.com. "Just really about the environment, coping with sometimes not doing so well and just trying to keep my emotions steady.
"It's a completely different game in my opinion [to youth football]. I think the speed and the strength of the men's game is totally different.
"It's more the pressure as well, the pressure going into a game it's a lot more than what it was like playing in the EDS and the academy."
McAtee added: "It's been good [to be back at Man City], I've had the chance to see some of my old friends and that's always good and just trying to get sharp now and get fit for pre-season."
The Salford-born starlet is currently away with Guardiola's squad on their pre-season tour of the United States and is expected to be involved in Wednesday's friendly with Celtic, before Man City face AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea over the next 10 days.
Oliver Thomas
