Patterson looks set to join the Toffees from Rangers.
Everton are set to sign Nathan Patterson from Rangers in a deal worth £16m. The 20-year-old Scottish full-back appears to be the club’s long-term replacement for captain Seamus Coleman.
Patterson has played just 26 times for Rangers across the last three seasons, but is highly rated and has already won six caps for Scotland.
Everton reportedly attempted to sign the right-back last summer but were unable to complete the deal.
Everton set to sign long-term replacement for Seamus Coleman.
Patterson has had limited opportunities for Rangers due to the form of club captain James Tavernier, who has scored 26 times and registered 44 assists across the last two and a half seasons.
Patterson, however, was highly regarded by former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and has already broken into the Scotland team. The 20-year-old will help solve a problem position for Everton.
Rafa Benitez’s side have been short of options at right-back all season, despite the club spending more than £500m in transfer fees over the last couple of years.
Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny, who has played just 11 times for the club over the last two years, are the only senior right-backs in the Everton squad.
Kenny, however, has spent the last two seasons on loan at Schalke and Celtic respectively and is seemingly not considered to be Coleman’s long-term successor at right-back.
Coleman criticism.
Coleman, the club’s longest-serving player and captain, has been been the focus of criticism from some Everton fans this season with the club enduring a miserable campaign on the pitch.
The Irish defender has not been helped by Everton during a difficult period and has arguably been left in the firing line because of the club’s haphazard transfer policy. Due to the dispute between Benitez and Lucas Digne, Coleman was even asked to play at left-back for the Toffees on Sunday in their 3-2 defeat to Brighton.
Last week, Coleman told Everton’s matchday programme that he accepts criticism from supporters and doesn’t let it affect his focus.
The 33-year-old said he would rather be the focus of criticism than young players or a new signing. He also conceded that he is not the same player he was a decade ago.
Coleman: I don’t let criticism from Everton fans affect me.
“There were a few occasions in the past when my form was under scrutiny,” Coleman said.
“I am captain of the club and a familiar face. I would rather it be me than someone coming through, or a player who has just signed for the club.
“I can take it on the chin and understand you have to accept the good and bad together. You can’t just read about the good times. You have to take the stick when it comes.
“When you go to the training ground, you do your work and put in your effort. The noise outside of that, in the best possible way, doesn’t affect me. I know what I am doing to try to have a positive impact on the team every day.
“I might not be the playing presence I was at 23 or 24, but as a captain and in training every day, I am giving my all, approaching it as if I was a 22-year-old.”
The Ireland captain joined Everton from Sligo Rovers in 2009 in a transfer worth £60,000. He has played over 350 times for the Merseyside club. Coleman’s contract with Everton runs until the end of next season.
Patterson, meanwhile, looks set to become Everton’s second signing of the January window. The Toffees signed left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo Kyiv on January 1. Benitez’s side are currently in 15th place in the Premier League, with 18 points from 19 games.
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