It did not take Oliver Glasner long to ki-bosh West Ham United’s hopes of bringing James McAtee to the London Stadium.
While Nuno immediately gave James Ward-Prowse the cold shoulder following his arrival in September, the appointment of a new head coach at Nottingham Forest looks destined to have the opposite effect on McAtee’s career.
A rejuvenating effect, at that.
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According to the Daily Mail, new Director of Player Recruitment Nils Koppen installed McAtee as a leading target at West Ham United. Much to the delight of a fanbase who felt the England U21 international would be an inspired addition to a now Mateus Fernandes-deprived midfield.
Just days later, Oliver Glasner popped those McAtee rumours like a Piñata. Unfortunately for Koppen, rather than sweet, sweet transfer delights, out poured frustration and a very public show of faith from the new City Ground chief.
Now, as if to kill West Ham’s hopes for good like a clean, quick shot to the frontal lobe, McAtee appears to have provided an answer to a question which has long hung over him at Nottingham Forest.
Oliver Glasner will not let West Ham United sign James McAtee
Yes, he and Morgan Gibbs-White can play together.
Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 formation proved to be a revelation at Crystal Palace; Ismaila Sarr, Ebere Eze and Yeremy Pino relishing life in a duel number ten role behind a physical centre-forward in Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Unfortunately for McAtee, Glasner’s predecessors Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira had room in their XIs for only one number ten; the talismanic Gibbs-White. This partly explains why McAtee started only two Premier League matches in 2025/26.
The £30 million signing from Manchester City could not have wished for a managerial appointment that suits him better, then, than Oliver Glasner. A coach who not only believes in McAtee’s talents, but appears to have found a way to accommodate both he and Gibbs-White on the same team sheet.
“He and Gibbs-White can play together in this system,” the Nottingham Post wrote after McAtee impressed in Tuesday’s 3-0 friendly victory over Blackburn Rovers.
“Looked very lively in the final third, and although he’s got work to do to prove himself, Forest would be silly to wash their hands of him just yet,” writes Lee Clark, of Hammers News’ sister site Nottingham Forest News.
“There is definitely potential with McAtee.”
“Having watched him in our friendly, I definitely think he does [have a future at Forest],” Clark adds. “In fairness, he was unlucky last season. Playing second fiddle to the most in-form ten of the league is no mean feat and that saw him unused as we chased down survival.
“This season could be different under Glasner, however, with the manager renowned for going with two number tens.”
Hammers need to rely on Nils Koppen’s ‘creative’ approach
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As part of the Daily Mail’s initial report on the Manchester City academy graduate, they wrote that West Ham had a couple of alternatives in mind; Martin Adeline, Gustavo Sa, and Dwight McNeil.
Over the last two-and-a-bit weeks, Adeline has left ESTAC Troyes for Hamburg to the tune of £3.5 million, reports claiming that Gustavo Sa was bound for West Ham have grown cold, and McNeil offered Everton a timely reminder of his qualities with the final goal in a 4-0 pre-season crushing of Dundee.
Nils Koppen earned his reputation due to a ‘creative’ approach to recruitment.
The Belgian prides himself upon unearthing hidden treasures amid the reeds and nettles. Koppen brought Hamza Igamane to Rangers and saw him join Lille for a £10 million profit, while signing Bayern Munich’s new £52 million forward Ismail Saibari for just £200,000 at PSV Eindhoven.
McAtee, then, didn’t feel like a particularly ‘Koppen-esque’ signing, even if he is working with much greater resources than he is used to at West Ham.
But with McAtee now off the table, don’t be surprised if Koppen locates a low-cost alternative from Belgium, Morocco, or one of his various other shopping spots.
Hopefully, with Burnley away just three weeks away, in time for the trip to Turf Moor.
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