Aston Villa handed ‘transfer boost’ in pursuit of Man City youngster

Aston Villa have been handed a boost in their long-standing pursuit of Manchester City midfielder, James McAtee.

The Villans are one of a number of clubs that have been monitoring the teenager since earlier in the year, however it looked like any interest was shut down when he signed a new contract with the Premier League champions.

However, The Athletic are now reporting that the increasing attention McAtee is getting has tempted City into considering a loan move for the 19-year-old.

Most of the interest clubs would only want to sign McAtee on a permanent basis, there would still be a significant number keen on snapping him up for the 2022/23 campaign.

Leicester City, Leeds United, Brighton and Southampton have all been competing with Aston Villa for McAtee and Steven Gerrard’s side will face a huge challenge to lure him to the Midlands club.

While Villa could consider a loan deal for the midfielder, the player himself is eager to stay at the Etihad Stadium and look to enjoy a breakthrough season.

McAtee is certainly a huge prospect in Manchester after scoring 18 goals and assisting another seven for the U23 side last season, as well as making his debut for England U21s last month.

However, McAtee’s decision will come down to how many minutes on the pitch he would get at City, which would prove difficult considering he would be up against the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.

Conversations between City and McAtee’s representatives are expected once the squad returns from the pre-season trip to the US and Aston Villa will remain on high alert if he decides to leave on loan this summer.