Nathan Patterson: Everton sign right-back from Rangers in £16m deal

The deal for Nathan Patterson to move from Rangers toEverton was worth £16m.

The right-back has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at Goodison Park and becomes the club's second signing of the January transfer window.

The academy graduate who made his Gers debut in January 2020 was the subject of two bids from the Toffees.

Rangers will earn a club record initial fee of around £12m, with further add-ons worth around £4m, after a third move for Patterson by Rafa Benitez early in the transfer window.

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"I'm excited to get started and I'm over the moon to be a part of it," he said.

It was an easy choice to sign. The club has a huge history and the fans are great. We aren't where we want to be right now, but we can definitely get there with the talent in the changing room and staff here, and I have full belief that we can do that.

It is exciting to join a club that has so much talent. I am going to work on my socks and hopefully I can do well with them.

It was great for me to know that the manager really wanted me here. It makes your mind up early on when a club really wants you.

I wanted to come here from the beginning. I'm really looking forward to playing in front of the fans at Goodison and I'm delighted to be here.

I want to win some trophies to make the fans proud, and nail down a starting position.

James Tavernier was the Rangers' first-choice right-back this season and he had started in just two of his six Scottish Premiership appearances.

He scored his first goal for the national side in November after making his Scotland debut in June.

Moore said that the investment was a really good one.

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Craig Moore believes Nathan is ready to impress. The 20-year-old has agreed a five-and-a-half-year deal at Goodison.

Craig Moore is a former Rangers defender.

Nathan was having a hard time getting his starts with Tavernier playing in his position. Giovanni van Bronckhorst tried to get him into the team by playing him as a left full-back, but it didn't work and he's a senior international player now.

I think it's the right move for both parties, for the amount of money that they're talking about, potentially going up to £16m. Nathan has done well, showed promise, and thinks that everyone would understand that he just wants to play football.

The risk is currently on the other side of the country. Rangers are getting a lot of money in their business. The risk of the player hitting that potential is that, for me, he's the type of player who can play and do well in England, so you're talking £40-50m.

I think it's a good investment. He's a young boy and you'll need to be patient, but he's ready and desperate to play football.

What are they getting?

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In Scotland's 2-0 win over Moldova, Patterson scored his first goal.

Sky Sports' Sahil Jaidka.

Some Blues fans might question why the club has splashed out on a 20-year-old who has not started a game this season. Potential is the answer.

The initial offer of $5m was labelled a "joke" by Steven Gerrard, who was the Rangers manager at the time.

Since graduating from the Ibrox academy and making his Gers debut in January 2020, Patterson has gone on to break into the Scotland set-up too where he has earned six caps.

He has developed into a fearless, fast, ball-carrying full-back who is dangerous in attack and has occasionally been used by Giovanni van Bronckhorst as a winger or at left-back.

The youngster is strong in the air and not afraid of putting in a tackle, a trait that made him a fans favourite at Ibrox.

In the past year, he has scored against Royal Antwerp, Cove Rangers and Scotland against Moldova.

"Good forward play, athleticism, desire and strong challenges, along with good forward play, are what we can expect from him," he said. I am a full-back. I like to create chances to benefit the team. I can't wait for it.

He makes up for his lack of experience with his ability.

Why doesn't he start for Rangers?

Rangers' first choice right-back has been Tavernier.

If it weren't for captain James Tavernier's brilliance, Patterson would have more Rangers appearances to his name.

The 30-year-old has been a star for the Scottish titleholders at right-back, missing just two league games this season after a Covid outbreak, and has impressed both ends of the park.

Tavernier has scored four goals in the league so far this season, a third of what he did last year, and has already bettered the number of assists.

It was a near-impossible task to replace Rangers' captain but the fact van Bronckhorst has tried to play him in other areas shows how highly the Scotland international is regarded.

Why are Rangers selling him?

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Kemar Roofe was set up by Patterson.

Stewart Robertson said the club were on the verge of financial stability with Rangers' player-trading model key for the future.

Despite posting a loss last season, there was no need to sell any players in this window, so cashing in on an asset like Patterson makes sense.

Rangers have rejected previous offers for Patterson, Morelos and Kent, and only entertained offers that meet their valuation.

With other clubs interested in Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara, it's not as if the departure of Patterson is a problem for Rangers as they aim to retain their title which could bring with it a potential £40m windfall.

The club is investing in potential.

This season, Patterson has made just six appearances.

Sky Sports' Ben Grounds.

The malaise has continued under the leadership of Rafael Benitez. The second-half fightback that was needed after another slow start was too little, too late.

Same old problems for the new year. On the pitch, they are not great but off it, they are making up for lost time. The club have already spent around 30 million dollars on two full-backs, with the signing of Patterson four days after the capture of Mykolenko.

They have invested in potential.

Mykolenko has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, while Patterson will be 21 in October. Both have been signed with the intention of becoming mainstays in a defence that has needed tightening.

Lyndon Dykes tapped in the shot that led to Patterson's celebration.

The right-back position has been problematic for a long time.

The best full-back pair in the division were Baines and Coleman, and they were part of the reason for the best total of 72 points. Ronald Koeman wanted to provide Coleman with competition by signing Cuco Martina. It didn't work.

Marco Silva drafted in Djibril Sidibe at the start of his second season after the Sam Allardyce rescue act. This time, the Monaco right-back failed to secure a permanent move, so this was only a temporary fix.

Jonjoe Kenny was allowed to go out on loan to Celtic without providing cover for Coleman. Ben, Mason, and Alex were all in this position.

Iwobi took to social media to vent his frustration over not being played in his preferred position. Coleman's minutes needed better management because of persistent niggles.

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There are free to watch highlights from the game.

The summer transfer window passed with more frustration as one target chose to join another and another was blocked from joining.

The club have finally identified and acted on an area of weakness that will go some way to appease a disgruntled and divided fan base.

"I'm really looking forward to working under the manager and with my teammates, and I'm very excited about it." Everyone has made me feel welcome and I have met most of them already.

I had a good conversation with Seamus. I am looking forward to learning from him.

To learn and get better as a player, and hopefully win things and do well for the club is what I am here for. That is definitely going to happen if I am working with Seamus.

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