Nathan Patterson took part in Frank Lampard’s first training session as Everton manager on Tuesday, just a few days before an FA Cup Fourth Round clash against Brentford.
Everton swooped for Patterson early last month, signing him from his boyhood club Rangers for a cool £16m.
It was a big fee to pay for a player who’s made just 27 senior club appearances.
The 20-year-old already has a Scottish Premiership winners medal, though, while he has also impressed in the Europa League and in a Scotland shirt.
He’s athletic, dedicated and comfortable in both defence and attack, so there’s little doubt that he’ll eventually thrive in the Premier League.
Surprisingly, though, Patterson is yet to make his senior Everton debut.
Almost a month after swapping Glasgow for Liverpool, he only has a solitary 60-minute U23 outing to his name.
There’s just been a regime change at Goodison, though, with Lampard taking the reins, and a debut could be imminent for the Scot.
Everton released a training gallery on Tuesday afternoon from the new boss’s first session with the group and while deadline day signings Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli were nowhere to be seen, Patterson was snapped taking part.
Lampard should unleash Patterson against Brentford
New managers tend to like to shake things up a little with their first team selection and Patterson is an obvious candidate to make Lampard’s first XI at the weekend.
While Everton fans would no doubt appreciate a proper cup run, improving their Premier League standing has to be the priority over the coming weeks and months.
Therefore, this game is an ideal opportunity to give Patterson a chance to show what he can do.
After being held back for a number of weeks, he’ll no doubt be raring to go and will provide more attacking threat than the vastly experienced but ageing Seamus Coleman and more all-round quality than Jonjoe Kenny.
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