Glasgow Rangers are now onto their third permanent manager since November 2021 and hopefully Philippe Clement can bring some stability to the Ibrox side.
Despite Michael Beale leading the Gers to an underwhelming start to the campaign, Clement could still realistically win all three domestic trophies if he hits the ground running, but that’s a big if.
Having won three league titles in his native Belgium with Genk and Club Brugge, there is no doubting his winners mentality, but he will have a tough task getting a tune out of some of the players in Glasgow.
Beale’s transfer business has been scrutinised over the previous few weeks and while a rebuild was required at the Light Blues, the former QPR manager spent vast sums of money on players who clearly haven’t lived up to expectations in Glasgow.
This has been a theme since the summer of 2021. Winning the Premiership title during the 2020/21 campaign was meant to usher in a new era of dominance by the Ibrox side, but poor transfer dealings ensured Celtic returned to the summit of Scottish football, and they have remained there ever since.
It hasn’t just been new arrivals who have been disappointing, but also the fact the Gers have moved on various players who have since gone on to shine elsewhere and this has come back to haunt them recently.
Indeed, former manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst sold academy graduate Nathan Paterson in 2022, yet he is now excelling in the Premier League.
How many appearances did Nathan Patterson make for Rangers?
The right-back worked his way from the bottom all the way to the first team during his spell at Rangers, and it looked as though the Old Firm side had an ideal heir to James Tavernier waiting in the wings.
The youngster earned his full debut under Steven Gerrard back in January 2020 against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup and was delighted to make his bow for the club, saying: “It was surreal, walking out in front of 40,000 fans for the club I love, it was just a great feeling.
“Over in Dubai I just did my best, I got a start against Lokomotiv Tashkent and played well. I’d hoped that would be enough to get the starting place against Stranraer.”
Another appearance came in the Europa League and ahead of the title-winning season, the defender was keen to take another step up and challenge Tavernier.
He did make 14 appearances in all competitions and while he couldn’t fully displace the captain, his talent seemed limitless and the club had a diamond that they could develop further.
Despite the topsy-turvy start to the 2021/22 season, plus Gerrard departing in November, Patterson did manage 11 appearances for the club, but it was evident that he wasn’t going to replace Tavernier in the starting lineup anytime soon, despite his prodigious talents.
Patterson played just 27 matches for the Light Blues before a move came which would be too good to turn down.
How much did Rangers sell Nathan Patterson for?
In January 2022, Everton popped up with an offer in the region of £16m for the youngster and having failed with two bids during the 2021 summer transfer window, it was third time lucky for the Toffees.
The offer was clearly too good for Van Bronckhorst to turn down, especially considering he was simply a backup to Tavernier at the time. £16m represented the biggest sale in the Gers' history, yet it still feels like a blunder letting him go.
With the chance to play Premier League football and continue his impressive development, it was certainly a no-brainer for the defender, but it's clear that the Light Blues have missed out, despite receiving a vast sum in order to sell him.
How has Nathan Patterson performed this season?
The £28k-per-week starlet made just one appearance for the Merseyside club following his January move last year before suffering an injury which kept him out of the rest of the season.
With Frank Lampard now at the helm, Everton looked to avoid a repeat of their relegation battle heading into the 2022/23 season and Patterson was determined to shine.
19.8
21.4
1
1
2.6
2
0.6
0.3
4.4
2.6
He ended up featuring 21 times across all competitions while ranking in the top ten across the squad for accurate passes per game and second for tackles per game, indicating that he was certainly trending in the right direction and this has led him to shine under Sean Dyche during the current campaign.
Indeed, Danny Murphy lavished praise on the Scotsman, saying: "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.
"He is a diamond, they really have got themselves a good player in the market. He is a terrific young player."
Patterson has currently started four league matches this term, averaging 0.7 key passes per game, creating one big chance and making two tackles per game as the Toffees have enjoyed a slight upturn in form recently.
Even when compared to his positional peers in Europe's top five leagues, his defensive attributes have been impressive over the previous 12 months as he ranks in the top 8% for tackles per 90 (3.03) along with ranking in the top 5% for blocks per 90 (1.73) and there is no doubt he will continue to get better and better the more he plays in the top flight.
With Tavernier turning 32 in the next few weeks, the Gers will shortly have to start looking for an heir for the long-serving captain and considering he has registered 226 goal contributions – 107 goals and 119 assists – for the club, he will be extremely hard to replace.
While Patterson may not be as attack-minded as Tavernier, his defensive skills could have made him the perfect long-term replacement for the right-back, and he could have honed his attacking talents by playing regularly.
Although £16m is a lot of money and tough to turn down for someone who made just 27 appearances for the club, if Patterson keeps up his progress, there is no doubt the move will come to be a big regret by the Ibrox side.