It won’t be long before Nottingham Forest switch their focus towards signing players in what promises to be a hotly anticipated transfer window.
The Reds have been dangled a sizeable carrot, and with six games remaining, the team might still squeeze into the Champions League for 2025/26.
It does feel as though the Europa League, at the very least, is going to be on the cards, with Forest currently third on 57 points from their 32 games played this season.
Evangelos Marinakis tried to sign a striker in January but was thwarted in his efforts to land players such as Yoane Wissa and Matheus Cunha, with the mid-season window notoriously difficult to do business in.
Forward players do look to be the order of the day. Forest are looking to strengthen other areas of the pitch too, but more resources in the attack will be necessary if the Reds have the extra weight of Europe on their shoulders next season.
Nottingham Forest want James McAtee
The Manchester City youngster looks set to follow the likes of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap in waving goodbye to the Etihad Stadium during the summer transfer window.
According to the Daily Mail, Forest and Bayer Leverkusen are the two clubs showing the most interest in the versatile forward who has earned some minutes under Pep Guardiola this season.
The 22-year-old earned his first Premier League start for City on Saturday, scoring in a 5-2 win over Crystal Palace, with last season’s champions coming from 2-0 down at the Etihad.
In total, he’s made 24 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign, scoring seven goals in all competitions and helping City reach the semi-final of the FA Cup – where they will meet Forest.
Forest will love the fact that McAtee can play pretty much anywhere across the front line and given his age, he feels like exactly the type of player that the club is looking at these days.
McAtee fancies Leverkusen move
Although Forest are credited with the interest, it might not be as positive as it seems. Florian Plettenberg in Germany believes that McAtee is open to the Leverkusen move and with that in mind, he might need convincing to make a City Ground switch.
He posted on X: James McAtee is very open to a move to Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Concrete talks are ongoing and contact has remained since January. Since then, McAtee has been following Leverkusen closely. Nothing advanced between Man City and Bayer 04 yet.”
Forest will find it difficult to prepare a shortlist of targets just yet. The Reds will look for marquee players in the summer, especially if Champions League football is secured and if the top five is missed out on the level of players the club can attract might decrease.
McAtee absolutely fits the profile of someone that Forest would love to sign. The future is extremely bright for the talented youngster and perhaps reaching the stellar European club competition next season can help Forest win the race.
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