Pep Guardiola speaks out on James McAtee transfer as he makes Man City stay admission
by James Pallatt · NottinghamshireLiveManchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits he would love to keep James McAtee at the club.
But he understands the player’s desire to leave the Etihad in order to play more football.
It is understood Nottingham Forest have agreed a deal worth up to £30m with City for England Under-21 captain McAtee.
Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola said: "I would love to have him with me but we have too many players and he wanted more minutes.
"He believes going somewhere else will help that and I understand completely. We'd love to keep a lot of players in the academy here, and give them more time like Phil (Foden) had.
"When you're playing for Premier Leagues and trebles it's not easy to do it. That's not to say they can't, it's the same with McAtee.
"He has the potential to be with us but he wants more minutes and that's fair enough."
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