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Nottingham Forest win the race for Tottenham target seen as a James Maddison alternative

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 10:20 PM ET

Tottenham-linked Manchester City playmaker James McAtee has agreed to join Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest

Tottenham Hotspur have lost former skipper Son Heung-min to MLS club Los Angeles FC and, after James Maddison suffered an ACL rupture during pre-season, they are keen to bring in fresh attacking reinforcements before the transfer deadline.

With Dejan Kulusevski also injured and set to miss the opening weeks of the new season, summer signing Mohammed Kudus appears likely to operate in the No.10 role. Or else, we saw Thomas Frank use Pape Matar Sarr in an advanced role against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine on Wednesday.

Spurs are already scouring the market to find an adequate replacement for the injured Maddison. Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss has emerged on the club’s radar in recent weeks. Another player who has been identified as a target is Manchester City talent James McAtee. However, it looks like the player is leaving Manchester for Midlands this summer.

James McAtee to Nottingham Forest, here we go! Deal agreed club to club for the midfielder who said yes to #NFFC as revealed earlier this week.

£22m initial fee up to £30m package with add-ons and sell-on plus buy back clause.

Medical booked for McAtee. pic.twitter.com/fei79rbY16
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 14, 2025

Tottenham target James McAtee has said yes to Nottingham Forest project

According to transfer news guru Fabrizio Romano on X, Nottingham Forest have booked a medical for James McAtee after agreeing a fee with Manchester City. They will pay an initial fee of £22m for him, which will rise to £30m with add-ons and sell-on plus buy back clause set to be inserted. The player will soon travel to City Ground for medical tests.

Nottingham Forest have been working to find an agreement with Manchester City since having an initial offer turned down for the creative midfielder by the Sky Blues. Tottenham held talks with Man City over the possible signing of the England Under-21 international, but Forest have won the player’s signature as per Romano.

Forest have dealt Spurs double blow

Tottenham had Morgan Gibbs-White in the bag earlier this transfer window after triggering a £60m release clause in his contract, only for Forest to block a move. The Tricky Trees sought legal action against the North Londoners to stop a deal for Gibbs-White going through and eventually they succeeded, with the player later signing a lucrative new contract.

After retaining Gibbs-White’s services, the Midlands club have now struck a second blow to Tottenham by wrapping up a deal for McAtee from under their noses. McAtee was given sporadic starting opportunities by City boss Pep Guardiola to showcase his talent last season. At 22, he clearly wants to play more and has decided to leave his boyhood club for Forest.

A creative talent who can operate in different positions, McAtee could have been a smart acquisition for Thomas Frank’s side. He is a technically smart and tactically versatile player who would have not only improved Tottenham’s starting XI but also provided quality depth. Furthermore, Forest signing him for an overall package of £30m with add-ons would hurt the Lilywhites more, particularly after City were seeking £42.5m in July.

Perhaps, Daniel Levy then decided to not pursue McAtee at that steep price and look out for alternative No.10 targets to enhance Frank’s squad.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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