The City youngster is currently away with the England Under-21s as they seek to defend their crown won two years ago.
McAtee is a very talented and highly regarded young player that Everton have been tracking and who David Moyes likes and would presumably be interested in signing.
Stories have been circulating for several days that the Toffees are serious about a move for the 22-year-old midfielder whose formative career at the Etihad Stadium seems to be over.
Everton are also being strongly linked with a move for one of McAtee's team-mates, Jack Grealish, who also looks almost certain to leave City after being left out of the club's World Club Cup squad.
Of course, many of these stories are speculative, although the reports about Grealish do appear to have something behind them and do not seem to be going away.
As for McAtee, it seems increasingly less likely that the Blues would be able to bring him in, especially if they find a way to do a deal for Grealish, which is still far from certain.
McAtee — who is related to former Everton legend Alan Ball, who was part of the fabled midfield trio alongside Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey that won the 1970 league championship — is someone that lots of other clubs would be keen on.
Now, one of them, Nottingham Forest, appear to be at the head of the queue for the young star and could have moved into pole position for his signature.
He is a player who appears to be quite a versatile midfielder, providing creative ability and a goal threat, which the Toffees certainly need a lot more of next season.
But it seems that Everton will have to look elsewhere for the added offensive threat, and hopefully Moyes can find the players he needs for the club to make real progress next season as the Blues move into their new stadium.