James McAtee arrived at Nottingham Forest as a £30 million signing from Manchester City who had barely played — discarded by four successive managers and limited to just two Premier League starts in his debut season at the City Ground. Six months on, Oliver Glasner has rebuilt him into one of the most creative midfielders in England's top flight.

The quarterback role

When Glasner left Crystal Palace to take charge at Forest, he brought his 3-4-2-1 system with him. Central to that shape are what he calls the "quarterbacks" — two central midfielders responsible, in his own words, for "the speed of our attacks, if we go forward or keep possession." At Palace, Adam Wharton filled that role to near-perfection: defensively sound, creative under pressure, and decisive in transition.

At Forest, Glasner faced a double challenge: replicating Wharton's influence while also replacing Elliot Anderson, the dynamic midfielder who departed for Manchester City in the summer. Few would have predicted that one player could solve both problems — and fewer still would have named McAtee as that player.

A change of position, a change of fortune

McAtee came through the Manchester City academy and represented England as an attacking No 10. Glasner has asked him to operate considerably deeper, a significant positional shift by any measure. Yet it appears to suit him perfectly.

Brian Barry-Murphy, one of McAtee's former academy coaches at Manchester City and now manager of Cardiff City, offered a telling insight to Sky Sports in 2024. "Pep always references how good he is in pockets," Barry-Murphy said. "The tighter the spaces, the more at home and comfortable he is. He's a very specific player in that role."

That capacity to thrive in congested areas — combined with his left-footedness and sharp passing — makes McAtee a natural fit for the quarterback role that Glasner has defined at Forest.

The numbers tell the story

After five Premier League matches this season, McAtee ranks among the competition's most productive creators. Only five players have generated more chances, and just three have bettered his creativity from open play. In passes leading to a shot — sequences that produce an attempt on goal within two or three touches — McAtee sits second in the Premier League, level with Bruno Fernandes, who led the entire division in that metric last term.

His only superior in that category at Forest is Morgan Gibbs-White, the club's talisman. Yet an argument can be made that McAtee's role is more fundamental to how this team functions: he is the one setting the tempo, driving the ball forward, and unlocking defences with those incisive passes through the lines.

Forest's direct blueprint

This Forest side are not interested in patient, possession-based football. Glasner's system is vertical and efficient — when they win the ball, they move it forward with urgency. Only four of their attacks this season have been classified as build-up attacks. They rank fourth for forward passing percentage and third for completed through balls in the Premier League.

McAtee is the engine at the centre of that approach, just as Wharton drives it for Crystal Palace. When Glasner makes his return to Selhurst Park on Super Sunday — now as Forest manager rather than Palace boss — the subplot running beneath the reunion is sharp: his new quarterback lining up against his old one.