'He gets it now' - The Sheffield United midfielder becoming an indispensible member of a promotion chasing team

Signed on loan from Manchester City, McAtee endured a baptism of fire when he first arrived at Bramall Lane as he struggled to acclimate to the rigours of senior football following three years in the Premier League title-holders academy programme.

But after being recalled to United’s starting eleven last month, McAtee has continued to go from strength to strength. Aged 20, he created the goal for Iliman Ndiaye which saw Heckingbottom’s second-placed team put Wigan Athletic to the sword at Bramall Lane.

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“James is maturing,” the United manager told The Star. “That’s exactly the word I used to (head of player development) Jack (Lester) when he set that goal up. He gets it now. He gets how to string all of the talent he’s got together. You can tell it, with the way that he’s carrying himself out there on the pitch now.”

Although United plan to rotate their squad during Monday’s visit to leaders Burnley, Heckingbottom’s assessment of McAtee’s latest performance suggests he will again be handed a prominent role at Turf Moor. The same goes for Ndiaye, despite receiving a pep talk from Heckingbottom and Lester before the clash with Wigan who remain at the foot of the table.

“We’ve got options and we’ll use them,” Heckingbottom said. “That’s something we’ll continue to do because we want to keep everything lively and we’ve got lads who are pushing hard.”

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