Celtic-linked playmaker's 'most likely destination' revealed as £20m-rated starlet set for transfer

Celtic were linked with a move for the Manchester City starlet recently.

One of Celtic’s reported transfer targets looks to be edging closer to a January loan exit, after his likely destination was revealed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

Brendan Rodgers was linked to an ambitious move for £20million-rated Manchester City playmaker James McAtee in November, but faced strong competition from the likes of Lens, Lille, Feyenoord, VfB Stuttgart and Girona, who were said to ‘monitoring’ the England under-21 international’s situation at the Etihad Stadium.

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Celtic are actively looking to add to their squad this month admitted Rodgers, despite a commanding 15-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with the Northern Irishman saying yesterday: “We want to improve the squad, absolutely. I don't have a number. I'd love to give you a number, but I don't have a number, because we may want to, but it might not be possible. But we certainly want to add to the squad and give it a freshness, and that'll hopefully help us going forward.”

McAtee, who spent two seasons on loan at Sheffield United as a teenager, bagged an impressive hat-trick in the 8-0 thrashing of Salford City in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, but has struggled for regular game time this season, playing just 36 minutes in the English Premier League this season.

James McAtee in action for Manchester City against Celtic in pre-season.James McAtee in action for Manchester City against Celtic in pre-season.
James McAtee in action for Manchester City against Celtic in pre-season. | SNS Group

Despite his lack of minutes though, Cityzen boss Pep Guardiola views McAtee as an important squad member, admitting at the weekend that he “would love him to stay.” The Spaniard boss claimed he had already played a pivotal role in keeping him in Manchester previously, but conceded that the player would be hoping for more game time in the coming months.

“He's been at City for a long time,” said Guardiola. “A City supporter and he was one of the biggest talents at the academy from the generation of Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Liam Delap. He played with these guys and was the captain of them. I'm really, really pleased he's here with us. I was the one to say last summer no about a loan. I was the one who said if in Sheffield [United] he doesn’t play, come here. I was the one to say, maybe a loan no, I want Macca here.

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“Of course he didn’t play much minutes so far, and I understand that, but I was the one that said I want James here with us. What happened when they ask me all the time about the future and I don’t answer, it’s because I don’t know exactly. The same happens with James.”

While links to Celtic Park have gone silent in recent weeks, it looks like the 22-year-old is now set for a switch to the Bundesliga after Romano posted that a move to the German top tier ‘remains the most likely destination’ for the player this month via his X (formerly Twitter) account. This morning talkSPORT then revealed that Mainz are ‘leading the race’ to sign McAtee from the EPL champions, despite heavy competition from teams above them in the German top-flight as well as other tops clubs across Europe.

As for Celtic Park outgoings, Rodgers has addressed the future of Luis Palma, who could see a loan move to Rayo Vallecano scuppered after the La Liga outfit were hit with a shock transfer ban this week. “He’s here now,” said the Hoops manager. “So, yeah, it was just something that happened overnight, and I could see, I sensed with him the feeling, and then to sit in a coach three and a half hours [re: the weekend game at Ross County], going up north probably wasn’t going to be the best thing for him.

“So, I just gave him the weekend, to be with his family, and then reset again after the weekend. So, he’s come back in, and it’s been a hard time for him, losing both grandparents, who were so close. He’s ready to go again, and he’ll be part of the squad tomorrow.”

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