Swansea have been eager to bring in James McAtee on a short-term deal for quite some time now - but Simon Bajkowski of MEN has told Wales Online that a deal may be unlikely in January unless the player pushes for it.

The youngster has featured only once for Man City so far this season and even that was a very brief cameo for the high-flying Premier League side. The potential is clearly there for the attacker to make his mark given the chance on a short-term deal elsewhere but it seems as though Pep Guardiola is reluctant to let many of his youth players leave.

A quick glance at his stats for the City academy sides shows a player who is clinical in front of goal and is already producing bits of magic well beyond his years. In just 12 games for the B side so far this year, he already has 13 goal contributions - an incredible tally that has only increased the interest in his services.

McAtee also has no experience of competitive football on a regular basis as of yet but Swansea have been prepared to give it to him.

It seems like a no-brainer that he would be allowed to go and find first-team action elsewhere, especially if he is not currently in the picture at the Etihad Stadium. However, Simon Bajkowski has today spoken to Wales Online about the potential view for a transfer in the future and claimed that if he 'pushes for a move' it could happen - but that otherwise Guardiola has liked keeping his young prospects close.

If that is the case, then he might not step foot in the EFL in January - and could mean that he instead gets given more of a chance at City in the second half of the campaign.

The Verdict

James McAtee is a really exciting prospect at Man City and it would be great to see him in the EFL.

So far, he has only had chance to really test himself in the club's academy. He's proven to be more than capable playing there and now needs a new test elsewhere.

It's a shame then that it looks more likely that he will have to work with scraps at Man City. It could ultimately work in the long run but it means we won't be able to see if he can handle Championship football in the meantime.

He would have been a good addition to Russell Martin's squad too - but they may now have to look elsewhere.