Everton’s Nathan Patterson targeted by Eintracht Frankfurt amid contract countdown

Ja bitte

Nathan should grab this opportunity and move on in his career. It isn't working out for him at Everton for whatever reason.

Hope we get a decent fee (£10M?) and use that money towards buying a world class right-back.

Ajay If you can afford a world class right-back, you're not needing £10M to put towards the pot. More likely a £25-35M young talent who could develop to one day be world class.

People quoting £30-35M for Spence... I'd take that!! Not huge when you see the fees for Rogers and Anderson.

A great shame he didn't make it with us.

I watched him throughout his Rangers career and was made up when we got him. Not sure what happened but wish him good luck for his future career.

Arsenal are being linked with Wan-Bissaka today.

John (4) Good post. I echo what you've posted there.

There's still time for Nathan to make a good career in football for himself, either back home or in Europe, going by the rumours.

Patterson hasn't played anywhere near enough senior football. According to AI, he has started 29 times for Everton, 5 times for Glasgow Rangers and 8 times for Scotland. 29+13 = 42, which isn't a lot of starting appearances for a lad who is 25 next birthday.

His overall total Everton appearances is 56, plus 13 for Rangers and 24 for Scotland; total: 93 senior appearances, actually means he has been a sub more than he has been a starter throughout his senior career.

A product of the modern academy system. Very good first touch, more than comfortable with the ball at his feet, but he has probably played for teams that always manipulated the ball during his teenage years, which means that nobody has ever taught the kid how to defend.

I don't mind him, he was doing okay under Lampard but he never got that proper run in the team that he badly needed because of injuries, so I just hope he goes somewhere where he is going to play every week, which is what he needs to do so he can improve.

He shouldn't be leaving until we have a starting right back in, otherwise we need Patterson as back up in case O'Brien gets injured.

Eric, you underestimate Moyes's uncanny ability to pick right backs from any position.

I always just figured he must be an absolute twat and it’s not actually about his ability…. He’s been through multiple managers with us and non of them have picked him. Not even a fellow Scotsman who is in charge now will select him. Is Jonjoe Kenny still knocking about?

True Paul, maybe he's been working with Dibling in training to take over from Jake?

Patterson is a good player, this is one of the strangest situations I can remember in football. I can understand wanting a better right back, but acting as if he doesn’t exist and playing players out of position ahead of him makes no sense. Moyes has played Ashley Young, Jake O’Brien and James Garner at right back rather than Patterson.

Although a small sample size, the stats when Patterson played are good.

Last season he started 3 (w2, d1) and was never involved in a defeat. Despite playing well, the side being better balanced with him in and results being good, Moyes replaced him with an out-of-position alternative at the first opportunity.

I can only think the issue is physical, as even when he starts, he often doesn’t finish - but that seems like the kind of thing that can be worked on by a highly paid, ‘top-level’ coaching team.

If we do sell, we’ll need to sign 2 right-backs.

Patterson is awful... the sooner we cash in, the better.

As for keeping him till we sign a right-back, that would be a waste of time because he still won't get a game. We need to sell as soon as possible.

Needs to be moved on. Successive managers have not used him. His defensive capabilities are poor, his awareness is poor.

The right back position has been available for the last 3 years and he has not made it his.

Nothing to do with Patterson, but it's a joke at this stage that we have not filled that position.

If your face doesn't fit then it's time to move on. Every manager at every club has his faves and Moyes is no different.

Moyes will carry on as he always does and I still don't see big Jake starting in the middle.

If some players are sold then maybe cash can be freed up for a right back and a striker.

I think using the Patterson situation as a stick to beat Moyes with is a tad OTT. Moyes, as has been said before, is one of a stream of managers, who have seen the lad week in week out in training, and still don't rate him.
Our best right back is James Garner. It is possible that Merlin Rohl may also figure in that position. The fact that both signed as midfield players doesn't change that.
In Garner's case, if he decided to switch to that position permanently it could improve his international chances. (Given the right back shambles England faced in the World Cup).

They would not be the first players to change positions and have a career playing there.
We signed Ian Snodin as a central midfield player. He was much better in the back 4. Neil MacDonald was a right sided midfielder as a youth. He filled in at left back for Newcastle and that is the position we signed him for. But he reverted at times to midfield.
Phil Neville played left back, because his brother was the better right back and also played in midfield. It is a case of using your resources.

Whatever or whoever we end up with in the position, I am sure it won't be for a lack of looking if we don't find a better option than we currently have.

Meade from Celtic is about to sign for Ipswich for £8M, possibly rising to £10M. That's a bargain all day long.

Cracking little player. But we just won't bother even trying to sign him.

Paul - where would he play and which player would he replace?

Upfront Phil. He would replace the chuckle brothers.

Patterson presents a very puzzling situation. Admittedly he's been overlooked by managers before Moyes for reasons best known to them. But I can only speak from what I've seen of him in the limited opportunities he's been afforded.

Yes, he's made errors, some costly, but then no one in Everton's defence has been error free. I can't help but feel he's had a raw deal with the rare outings he's had.

Personally, I'd play him before Jake O'Brien, as full back is Patterson's natural position. O'Brien is far more at home in the middle and is too often turned by pacy wingers.

Patterson is athletic and gives attacking options. He's a good crosser of the ball. Defensively his positional sense is lacking and his tackling needs to be sharper. Overall these minuses could be worked on and improved, but only with game time and a sustained run in the side.

If Moyes were to give him that chance without preconceived bias, the lad might still prove to be the answer to our right-back problem.

Martin #16, didn't Garner play right back for England U21s? And he played at least one game for us last season at right back.

So is he a right back playing out of position in midfield? Or a midfielder playing out of position at right back?

Eric, my point exactly.
He is a versatile player who is our best right back.
We have many options in midfield and the best use of him may be to play in another position in which he has been successful already.
Given we have a number of combinations in midfield to operate with, and rumoured to be chasing others, I would not be unhappy to see him play at right back. The question is, would he be happy?

Lots of injuries and when he plays he is often out of position. Let him go