Enzo Maresca has admitted he attempted to bring James McAtee to Leicester City, only for the midfielder to choose Sheffield United instead.
The City manager spent a season alongside McAtee in the Elite Development Squad and was keen on a reunion when he took charge at the King Power Stadium. McAtee, however, opted for a second consecutive loan spell at Bramall Lane.
“I tried to sign James McAtee,” Maresca said. “We spent one season together here with the EDS. Then I tried to bring him with me at Leicester, but he preferred to stay with Sheffield [United].”
McAtee’s path from the academy to the first team was hardly straightforward. He made his senior debut in September 2021 and his Premier League debut two months later. A loan to Sheffield United for the 2022/23 season proved fruitful, with the Blades winning promotion back to the Premier League. He returned to Bramall Lane for a second spell the following campaign and scored his first English top-flight goal in December 2023 against Brentford in a 1-0 win.
Back at City, McAtee found the net for the first time in a 0-4 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava. He followed that with a first senior hat-trick in an 8-0 FA Cup rout of Salford City, and grabbed his debut Premier League goal in a 0-6 victory at Ipswich Town.
His impressive form attracted attention, and in the summer of 2025 he completed a £30 million move to Nottingham Forest. For Maresca, the one that got away at Leicester remains a point of reflection.
City, meanwhile, have had their own ups and downs this season. A perfect start of seven wins from seven—the best opening run by a new Premier League manager in the competition’s history—was followed by defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion. Their midweek trip to Leipzig offered some respite, featuring an own goal from Castello Lukeba, a header from Enzo Fernandez, and a fine link-up between Elliot Anderson and Erling Haaland that ended with the Norwegian scoring.
Last time out in the league, however, City lost 0-1 to Fabian Hurzeler’s side at the Etihad Stadium. Maresca will hope his side can rediscover their early-season form as they look to climb the table.