Everton have recently announced on their official website the signing of Nathan Patterson from Rangers. It has been revealed that the Scottish full-back has penned a five-and-a-half-year deal with the Toffees.
Patterson’s Recent Emergence In Scottish Football
Patterson has served as a decent squad player for Rangers after producing a few eye-catching performances for them during this campaign. The 20-year-old has appeared in 11 matches for the Glaswegian outfit this season, picking up one yellow card and one assist across all competitions.
The Scotland international has mostly been a substitute at the Ibrox Stadium which could be why he is only averaging 0.8 tackles, 0.5 key passes, 0.5 crosses and 1.0 dribbles per game in the Scottish Premiership. However, he deserves credit for being accurate when distributing the ball from the right flank, as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 86.5% in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
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What Will Patterson Bring To Everton?
Patterson is quick enough to make a few clever runs with the ball on the right-wing. He loves a tackle and can press the opposition well when trying to defend his penalty box at the back. The six-time Scotland international is primarily a right-back but is versatile enough to fill in as a right-sided winger or act as the left-back if required. He can even deliver some dangerous crosses into the opponent’s penalty area when he is playing well on the pitch.
An up-and-coming full-back of Patterson’s skill set could prove to be a shrewd addition to Rafael Benitez‘s squad. We can expect the Scottish youngster to bring some energy and dynamism to Everton‘s backline. He will undeniably enhance the overall depth of the Merseyside club’s squad and might help them secure a top-half finish in the Premier League table.
Patterson could also serve as an ideal successor to Seamus Coleman who is entering the twilight years of his playing career at Goodison Park. The Scottish talent’s overall ceiling is quite high, so Benitez would enjoy nurturing him into a class act at right-back over the next few years. The Toffees have done well to secure the services of Patterson who has the potential to become a future star in England as long as he continues to work hard on the training field.
