James McAtee has endured a tough time at Nottingham Forest following his £30 million ($40m) transfer from Manchester City, with the 23-year-old playmaker prompting a “difficult conversation”. Former Reds striker Marlon Harewood has told GOAL why struggles for a spark at the City Ground are difficult to understand, with McAtee clearly a talented individual.The Salford native was considered good enough for 34 competitive appearances at City, with an FA Cup hat-trick being recorded when facing his home-town club in January 2025. Later that year, McAtee captained England to European U21 Championship glory.A big-money move to Forest was agreed in the wake of that triumph, with the general consensus being that a hot prospect was ready to unlock full potential and secure the kind of regular game time that was being denied him in Manchester.McAtee has found the target just once for Forest - a late penalty in a Europa League victory over Ferencvaros - and has started only one Premier League fixture all season. More was expected of him, despite fierce competition for the Reds’ No.10 role being provided by senior England international Morgan Gibbs-White.Having been restricted to a support role, with limited game time being afforded to him, the obvious question is: How do Forest get the best out of McAtee? Could he be considered a confidence and rhythm player that needs to be playing regularly in order to find his best form?When those questions were put to Harewood, the former Reds frontman - speaking exclusively with GOAL via the home of cryptocurrency news - said: “It's a great question. It happens all over the country with players like that. Because he is a very good player. “If you were looking for a player and if he was available, you'd be saying yes, I would want him to be in the squad. For whatever reason, he's not been up to what he's capable of. Obviously, you can see signs of brilliance and how he's got to Forest and why they wanted him. But yet again, this is another conversation in the sense of he's not really lived up to his potential that he's capable of doing. “And that's another thing, that's just the manager needing to bring that out. That's what the manager is there to bring out the best in him because he is a talented player. So, this conversation we're having is a very difficult conversation because we know what these lads are capable of. And it's just something that's not bringing it out of them to produce for Nottingham Forest.”McAtee arrived on Trentside full of hope, telling Forest’s official website when his switch from City was confirmed: “I feel ready for a new challenge and the club had a great season last year so I want to help build on that and show what I can do. I’m so happy to be here and really looking forward to getting started with my new team-mates and I know the ambition of everyone associated with the club which is something I want to be a part of.”That optimism appears to have faded, with McAtee working under four different managers across his debut campaign at Forest. Having been signed by Nuno Espirito Santo, a coaching baton has since passed through the hands of Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira.The man currently at the helm, Portuguese tactician Pereira, said recently of efforts to eke performances out of a man that may be putting too much pressure on himself: “McAtee is a player that, if he plays with confidence and what he does in training, he can do magical things. From nothing, he can create something special. He has the quality to do it.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingForest have not seen enough of that ability across a campaign that sees them locked in the Premier League relegation battle. McAtee may still have an important role to play in that survival bid, but it is already being suggested that he could be on the move again when another transfer window swings open.