Manchester City have become famous for selling players for big money even if those players don’t always make it at the Etihad Stadium they know how to get the best value and one deal that could prove it again is the possible sale of James McAtee to Everton for £25 million this would be seen as a great piece of business for City considering he only started eight games for them in all competitions last season and doesn’t really have a future in Pep Guardiola’s first team plans
McAtee is a talented player no one can deny that he showed his quality at the Under-21 European Championship for England and has plenty of skill and creativity but at senior level he hasn’t done enough yet to justify such a big fee he has spent time on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship and played a bit in the Premier League but he’s not a regular starter at City and with so much competition in the squad it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon
City’s squad is stacked with options in midfield and on the wings Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are expected to be Guardiola’s main creative forces in the middle while Jeremy Doku Oscar Bobb and Savinho are preferred wide players that leaves little room for McAtee to break through even though he’s a product of City’s own academy
For Everton though McAtee could be a great signing David Moyes rates him highly and sees him as someone who can add a spark of creativity that they need but paying £25 million for a player who hasn’t proven himself at the highest level is always a risk there’s no guarantee he will be able to adapt and deliver week in week out in the Premier League
From City’s point of view it’s easy to see why they would accept such an offer they’ve been very smart in the transfer market over the years selling players at just the right time to maximise their value Ferran Torres is a perfect example they sold him to Barcelona for £46 million after just 18 months despite him not really settling in at City and at Barca he’s mostly been a squad player proving that City timed his sale perfectly
They did something similar with Danilo selling him to Juventus for £34.1 million while bringing in Joao Cancelo for £60 million in what turned out to be a very smart swap City know when to cash in and they aren’t afraid to move players on even when fans might question it
If McAtee’s deal with Everton goes through it wouldn’t even make the list of City’s top five most expensive sales but it would still be a pure profit move for them given he came through the academy and cost them nothing in transfer fees that’s the kind of business that helps City stay strong financially while also keeping their squad competitive and flexible especially with the 17 non-homegrown player quota they have to manage
Look at City’s biggest sales and you see the pattern Julian Alvarez £64.1 million rising to £81.5 million Raheem Sterling £47.5 million rising to £50 million Ferran Torres £46.3 million rising to £54.7 million Gabriel Jesus £45 million Leroy Sane £44.7 million apart from Sterling every single one was sold at a profit and even Sterling’s sale was good business given he was in the last year of his contract
Selling McAtee now is classic City they avoid the risk of his value dropping if he fails to kick on at Everton while banking a big fee that they can reinvest or use to balance the books if he does well at Everton they can point to their academy as proof of its quality and take pride in his success it’s a win win for them either way
For Everton it’s more of a gamble they need players who can make an impact and they’ll hope McAtee can be that creative spark but he’ll arrive with pressure to justify his fee and live up to his potential Moyes will have to manage that carefully and give him the right environment to succeed
In the end this is just another example of why City are so good at the transfer game they don’t just buy well they sell well too turning players they don’t need into big profits and keeping their squad lean competitive and full of quality options it’s one of the reasons they’ve been able to dominate English football in recent years and why deals like this one for McAtee might not get the biggest headlines but are just as important for their ongoing success
