The dossier Sheffield United will send to Man City to try and lure back James McAtee

After completing a breakthrough season with Paul Heckingbottom’s side, helping them win promotion back to the top-flight following two seasons away, the 45-year-old and his coaching staff have made no secret of the fact they would like to continue working with both McAtee and fellow City loanee Tommy Doyle next term. Although that would involve United signing Doyle on a permanent basis, with Guardiola and his associates not willing to listen to offers for his colleague until they can better gauge his potential, Heckingbottom is understood to be preparing a presentation for officials at the Etihad Stadium detailing how they would continue to help McAtee work on those areas of his game in need of further improvement before Guardiola can consider him for first team selection.

With clubs including Aston Villa, Leeds, Brighton and Hove Albion and Burnley all thought to be monitoring McAtee’s situation following his success in South Yorkshire, United accept they must fight off tough competition in order to Heckingbottom’s dream to become a reality.

But with City set to prioritise McAtee’s footballing education over a suitor’s ability to pay a hefty facility fee or make a sizeable contribution towards his wages, which are set to rise when he is shortly awarded a new contract, United hope Guardiola’s advisors will view them as a more favourable destination than, say, Villa Park or the AMEX Stadium.

With McAtee already proving to Guardiola that he can thrive in a competitive environment - it was not until the second half of the campaign that he became a key figure in Heckingbottom’s plans - representatives acting on United’s behalf are also set to emphasise that he will be guaranteed regular exposure at PL level should City send him back. That would allow the Catalan to make a more accurate assessment of McAtee’s prowess, after subjecting him to an extensive debriefing programme on his experiences with United later this summer.