Since the change of ownership, Chelsea have completely focused their transfer strategy on signing high-potential youngsters. They have signed a lot of them as well, in hopes that things work out for a few, while the others can be moved on. The likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and a few others have proven to be success stories. But on the other hand, there have been a lot more failures than successes.
They have missed out on a few of their targets as well. Interestingly, it looks like they could reignite their interest in one such player, as he has been struggling for game time lately and could be on the move once again.
James McAtee joined Nottingham Forest in the summer in a deal worth up to £30 million. The former Manchester City man has barely been involved since then though.
He has not scored or assisted for Nottingham Forest in 10 appearances across all competitions. And he has featured in just 22 minutes over the club's previous 11 Premier League matches.
Chelsea hold talks over signing former Manchester City player
One would not expect Chelsea to go after a player who is struggling as badly as McAtee is at the moment. But it looks like the club are convinced by their scouting and still have an interest in him.
As reported by The Chelsea Chronicle, Simon Phillips said on his Substack:
"SPTC Sources understand Chelsea have held fresh internal conversations around interest and a potential move for James McAtee of Nottingham Forest.
“Chelsea held previous strong interest in the midfielder when he was at Manchester City right before he made his move to Forest.
“McAtee hasn’t been playing as much as he would like to be playing at Forest, and there is a potential opportunity there.
“Chelsea have always admired the 23-year-old, which is obviously driven by Joe Shields having previously worked with McAtee."
There is no doubt that McAtee was an absolute standout for Manchester City at the youth level. But he was not able to make the jump to the senior ranks and become a regular there.
That being said, he was a decent contributor when given a chance, scoring 7 goals in 34 games for Manchester City. So, one could argue that it is Nottingham Forest that have gotten things wrong and there is a player in McAtee. At 23 years of age, he needs to be showing his quality at the top level soon though.