Pep Guardiola has the perfect chance to solve Man City's James McAtee transfer dilemma

With a menacing fixture schedule looming ominously for Manchester City, there’s one selection dilemma that Pep Guardiola must get right for the long term interests of the club.

The tough fixtures come thick and fast for City, with PSG, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest all on the horizon in a season-defining stint in which Guardiola will be keen to prove this season’s poor patch was an anomaly.

Within that, there are numerous interesting subplots, one of which is how James McAtee will be used.

The 22-year-old sent a reminder of his talents against his home town club Salford City in the FA Cup, and scored his first Premier League goal for City against Ipswich on the weekend.

He is out of contract in 18 months' time, and has chartered interest far and wide, with the likes of Newcastle and Fulham rumoured to be interested, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

Nonetheless, Pep has made his intentions clear, telling the press that he’d like McAtee to stay at City for “many years” last week.

McAtee’s future could well be dictated by this next block of games. What is clear is that he should start against Club Brugge and Leyton Orient, and see good minutes against Tottenham, which are the lighter fixtures embedded into this crucial six weeks.

However, minutes in big games are in the best interests for all parties. Should he leave in the summer, City can demand a much higher fee should he play in the big games whilst he himself will want to front foot negotiations.

The primary objective, of course, would be to secure his long-term commitment once he has proven he can perform on the big stage, a chance he has not yet been afforded at City.

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