
England making Jacob Bethell its youngest ever men's cricket captain at 21
Bethell will lead England against Ireland in three Twenty20s in Dublin.
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Blackburn Rovers predicted team with Lewis Travis replacement selected
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New York Times
25 minutes ago
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James McAtee: Adaptable youngster could grow alongside Morgan Gibbs-White at Forest
For those brief, worrying few days when the prospect of Morgan Gibbs-White leaving the City Ground felt like a real possibility, Nottingham Forest gave some thought to how they might replace their talisman. For Nuno Espirito Santo, the answer was that it would have been an impossible task, had Tottenham Hotspur been successful with their £60million ($81.4m) bid for the England midfielder early last month. Advertisement In the head coach's mind — and in those of others at the club — the best-case scenario would have been for Forest to sign a player who had the potential to become, over the next few years, as good as Gibbs-White is now. Anyone with that much quality and experience — the finished article, so to speak — would have been beyond their budget. What they wanted was somebody who, with the benefit of minutes in this Forest side, could evolve and grow along with the team. James McAtee ticks many of those boxes. He would likely have been among the list of potential replacements for Gibbs-White, had talks with Forest's owner Evangelos Marinakis not led to a new contract making him the highest-paid player in club history. What is certain is that 22-year-old McAtee has been on Forest's radar for some time, since long before Spurs arrived with their offer for Gibbs-White. They were among a clutch of clubs interested in the Manchester City academy graduate in this year's winter window. That is not a surprise because, like so many of Forest's signings in recent years, McAtee will arrive — assuming there are no late hitches after a deal was agreed between the clubs on Friday — with one key attribute: Versatility. It is a quality Nuno values in his players as much as any other. If you look at the positions McAtee has been deployed in over the past few seasons, during two season-long loans to Sheffield United and as a squad player with City, it is easier to count the ones where he has not been used: He is a player with the capability to one day replace Gibbs-White, should the 25-year-old ever be lured away from the City Ground. But in the meantime, he will provide midfield competition for the likes of Elliot Anderson, Ibrahim Sangare, Ryan Yates and Nico Dominguez. Forest see him predominantly as a No 8 or a No 10, even if he has previously operated on the right side of a three and even as a right-sided winger. McAtee has a lot of qualities, but outright pace is not one of them, so he would not be regarded as a replacement for Anthony Elanga, following his £52million move to Newcastle this summer. Advertisement Like fellow City academy graduates Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, McAtee came through the ranks there as a midfielder. But he is a player capable of making an impact in the final third. 'I think I've got the ability to play in midfield,' said McAtee in a previous interview with The Athletic, during his second loan spell at Bramall Lane. 'But I am a player who can move around. 'Pep (Guardiola's) biggest piece of advice is to be more patient. When I get the ball, I want to make things happen, keep trying it, but he says to keep recycling the ball and in good teams, like City, you'll always get the ball back in better positions.' Guardiola, the City manager, has regularly praised McAtee, even if his positive words were not reflected in the number of opportunities handed to the young man. 'It is difficult to find players with a sense of goal in small spaces who attack the final third, and McAtee has that quality,' Guardiola said after playing him for 80 minutes in the Community Shield against Manchester United last August. 'That's why I said at the beginning of the season that I don't want to loan him and I don't want to sell him, because I need his specific quality in small spaces. James has this ability.' McAtee went on to make 15 Premier League appearances last season, scoring three goals — but only three of those games were starts. It amounted to just 349 minutes played in the top flight. New-contract talks had been proposed at the start of that season, at a time when McAtee had been assured he would get his first-team chance. But no extension was ever agreed. Over the course of the season, there was a regular clamour among City fans for him to be given more of an opportunity. A breakthrough may have happened against Leicester in December — he came on with 24 minutes to go and inspired the second goal of a 2-0 win, earning positive reviews from Guardiola and convincing those who had wanted to see him play that they were right to champion his cause. 'I know it's unfair to say because I asked him to stay and I didn't give him the minutes he deserves,' Guardiola said afterwards. 'Yeah, that's fair enough, it's right, but I always had the feeling that this guy could play with us.' Ultimately, City needed to trim their squad this summer and, with another attacking midfielder, Rayan Cherki, arriving from Lyon in a €40million (£33.7m) deal in June, McAtee dropped further down the pecking order. As a former academy player, his sale represents pure profit for City and will help when it comes to adhering to profitability and sustainability regulations. Advertisement The play-making midfielder chose to join up with the England Under-21 squad this summer as they retained the European Championship, rather than heading to the U.S. to play in the Club World Cup. He captained that England side and was named in the team of the tournament. His new Forest team-mate, Anderson, was also part of that squad. With a running style likened to that of former England international Jack Wilshire, McAtee's frame may seem slight at first glance despite him being just short of 6ft (180cm) tall. But his work with the City first-team squad has helped him to evolve into a player who is difficult to knock off the ball. That brand of tenacity might well have been inherited from his father, John, who was a highly-regarded Rugby League player, with St Helens. His mother, Gill, is a dance coach — which might explain why McAtee's goal celebrations can often be acrobatic in nature, involving a somersault or two. Those two loans at Sheffield United — where he made 37 Championship appearances as they won promotion in 2022-23 and 31 in the Premier League as they went back down to the second tier in the following campaign, scoring a total of 12 goals — helped him to grow. McAtee felt the experience helped him to adapt to the physicality of the game. Now he is set to join Forest as a young man armed with vast potential and significant versatility. And he will have the opportunity to learn from Gibbs-White, rather than being viewed as his potential replacement. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle