Leeds United must act now if they’re to land one of their key summer transfer targets, with clubs in the Bundesliga starting to make their moves.
As ever, getting deals done will be difficult for Leeds United in the upcoming transfer window, especially now they are a Premier League club and are looking to sign Premier League-quality players.
Already we’re seeing Daniel Farke’s side facing stiff competition for potential new signings with seemingly all of Leeds United’s rumoured transfer targets linked with several other clubs at the same time.
Kyle Walker-Peters for example: Leeds United are in the race to sign Walker-Peters this summer but so too are the likes of Everton, Spurs and West Ham, in a story that could become rather typical for the Whites this summer.
The same can be said of James McAtee. Leeds United have been linked with McAtee again this summer after Farke tried to bring the Man City man to Elland Road during the January transfer window.
James McAtee has Bundesliga offers amid Leeds United transfer interest
McAtee is another with more than one suitor right now. And he’s someone with interest from outside of England too with Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg revealing that the 22-year-old ‘has received several enquiries from the Bundesliga’ ahead of the summer, with Bayer Leverkusen among those interested.
But Plettenberg adds that ‘the next steps will depend on Leverkusen appointing a new manager’. Xabi Alonso has left the club and is expected to become Real Madrid’s new manager. Erik ten Hag and former Leeds United manager target Cesc Fabregas are among those tipped to replace him.
It could be something that McAtee waits to see unfold this summer. But it’s starting to look more and more inevitable that he leaves the Etihad either way, with his contract set to expire in 2026.
Pep Guardiola’s Man City ultimatum surely spells the end for James McAtee
McAtee has long seemed like one player who might angle for a move away from the Etihad this summer, with manager Pep Guardiola still really limiting his game time in the Premier League: he’s made just 15 league appearances this season.
And Guardiola has now given Man City a transfer ultimatum that could impact McAtee. The Spaniard has threatened to quit unless his squad size is reduced this summer, saying: “I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad]. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer.
“I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay. It’s impossible for my soul to [tell] my players in the tribune [stands] that they cannot play.”
McAtee has a £25million price tag which is seemingly within Leeds United’s reach. But fending off competition from top Bundesliga sides like Leverkusen, as well as Premier League clubs, will certainly prove difficult.
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