Everton have become somewhat renowned for their poor transfer decisions following Farhad Moshiri’s arrival at the club six years ago, with last season’s struggles making it glaringly obvious that things needed to change at Goodison Park.
However, with financial issues mounting the club took a more subtle approach to their transfer window, signing eight players to strengthen their struggling team and offloading key player Richarlison in a £60m deal.
Despite adding a number of new players in the summer, there is one player at Goodison Park that has felt like a brand new signing for the Toffees, with Nathan Patterson taking up a starting role in the right-back position in place of club captain Seamus Coleman.
The Scottish youngster has been proving over his six appearances in the first six league fixtures that he is quickly becoming the perfect heir to replace Coleman in the long term, who is now clearly being phased out of the side and is in the last 12 months of his contract.
Patterson currently ranks as the third-best performer in the Toffees squad – averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.05, and it comes as no surprise when you consider the 20-year-0ld’s impact in his position so far.
The £16m Toffees right-back has created one big chance, tallied up an 84% pass completion rate in his own half, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 4.2 tackles, 3.0 clearances and winning 64% of his ground and aerial duels combined.
Patterson’s promising contributions have not gone unnoticed, as Danny Murphy lavished praise on the young talent during his analysis of the Merseyside derby on Match of the Day last night, stating (via Daily Record):
“He’s got this desire to get forward and have an impact on the game, which I think is great. His defensive work is good, you can see the strength to keep the ball under pressure.”
Are you happy with Patterson’s performances?
Yes
No
“Late in the game, he has the fitness levels and concentration to defend properly. He is a diamond, they really have got themselves a good player in the market. He is a terrific young player.”
With that being said, the signing of Patterson is certainly a rare Moshiri masterclass and if the young player can continue to be a dominant presence on the right flank it could set up the position in the team for years to come.
