Oliver Glasner has transformed James McAtee from a marginal figure at Nottingham Forest into the midfield organiser at the heart of his new system, giving the former Manchester City player a role strikingly similar to Adam Wharton’s at Crystal Palace.
Glasner retained the 3-4-2-1 structure that served him well at Selhurst Park after moving to the City Ground. His midfield pairing is central to that approach, with the manager previously describing the two players in the role as “quarterbacks”.
Wharton provided the model at Palace: defensively disciplined, comfortable in possession and capable of producing the passes that unlock a defence. Forest also needed to compensate for Elliot Anderson’s departure to Manchester City, having lost a player regarded as the side’s heartbeat.
Few would have expected McAtee to emerge as the answer. The 23-year-old arrived from City for £30m but started only two Premier League matches last season, with Forest’s four managers failing to establish him as a regular.
Glasner, however, has moved him away from the advanced No 10 position in which he developed with Manchester City and England. McAtee is now operating much deeper, where his ability to receive the ball under pressure has become a defining feature of Forest’s play.
Brian Barry-Murphy, one of McAtee’s coaches in the Manchester City academy and now Cardiff City manager, previously highlighted that quality. “Pep always references how good he is in pockets,” he said in 2024.
Barry-Murphy added: “The tighter the spaces, the more at home and comfortable he is. He’s a very specific player in that role.”
That skill has translated into a creative influence from midfield. McAtee has been among the Premier League’s most prolific chance creators during the opening five matches, with only five players creating more chances and only three producing more from open play.
He ranks second for passes leading to a shot, level with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who was the division’s most creative player last season. Only McAtee’s Forest team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White has recorded more such passes.
Gibbs-White remains Forest’s attacking talisman, but McAtee’s deeper position gives him a crucial responsibility in controlling the team’s tempo and direction. Glasner said the midfielders in the role are responsible for deciding “if we go forward or keep possession”.
Forest’s approach is built around making that decision quickly. They favour vertical, efficient football rather than lengthy spells of circulation, with only four of their attacks this season classified as build-up attacks. They also rank fourth for the proportion of forward passes and third for completed through balls.
McAtee has become central to that direct style, supplying the incisive passes that move Forest through the lines. In doing so, he has taken on the responsibilities once associated with Wharton at Palace.
That makes the meeting between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest more than Glasner’s return to the club where he achieved unprecedented success for generations of supporters. It will also bring his former midfield conductor face to face with the player now filling that role in his new project.
