Everton have made a £5m bid for Rangers defender Nathan Patterson according to a report as Toffees boss Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his defence after taking charge at Goodison Park.
According to The Mirror, Benitez wants the Rangers and Scotland star to challenge Sheamus Coleman and are “pushing hard in this window” to land Patterson.
Patterson has made huge leaps forward since making his first-team debut for Rangers at the start of 2020.
In the 18 months since first appearing for Gerrard’s side, Patterson has gone on to cement his place in the Scotland squad and become the youngest Scot to pull on a dark blue jersey at a major tournament after featuring at Euro 2020.
The Gers have high hopes for Patterson to replace skipper James Tavernier in the coming years and a £5million bid has, according to Gers insider Heart and Hand, been rejected.
The report claims Everton feel they can lure him away from Ibrox but it is difficult to see Rangers letting Patterson move on unless they get an eye-watering fee for him.
Given the sort of fees spent by English clubs, £5million for a full international who has European experience by the time he is 19 is a slap in the face for the Scottish champions.
The history between Benitez and Gers boss Steven Gerrard is also an interesting wrinkle to the report with the former Liverpool boss unlikely to come in with a bid for one of Gerrard’s players unless he felt confident something could happen.
With less than a fortnight until the transfer window closes, it likely won’t get to drag on too long though and Patterson’s long-term future should be settled one way or the other by the time the window slams shut.
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