Steven Gerrard has raved about Nathan Patterson ahead of Rangers’ clash with Hearts at Ibrox, labelling him a ‘top prospect’ [RangersTV].
Patterson made his senior Gers debut during the 2019/20 campaign but permanently moved up to the first team last season and impressed so much when covering for an injured James Tavernier, that he earned a spot in Scotland’s squad for Euro 2020.
The 19-year-old has only made four club appearances so far this campaign, but he impressed against Hibs before the international break and then turned out for Scotland against Israel and the Faroe Islands, assisting the winning goal in the latter fixture.
With Tavernier likely to return to the side, Patterson might not feature against the Jambos at the weekend, but the Gers boss was full of praise for the teenager in his pre-match press conference.
“He’s a kid who’s really hungry,” he said [RangersTV]. “He’s full of desire and commitment and I think you could see that in his performance [against the Faroe Islands].”
“Before he joined up with Scotland he put an absolute top-class delivery into the box for us to get the equaliser against Hibs. The ball for Kemar Roofe was world-class and then he obviously got an assist in the second game for Scotland.
“He’s in a fantastic place, Nathan. We just have to keep his feet on the ground, keep developing him and keep shaping him. We need the support from the Scotland staff as well to keep moving him forward but there’s no doubt about it, Rangers and Scotland have a real top prospect on their hands, for sure.”
Gerrard labels Rangers starlet Patterson a ‘top prospect’
Some of the calls for James Tavernier to be dropped for Patterson have been a little disrespectful, given the incredible numbers Tav produced while captaining Rangers to a historic league title last season.
However, there’s no doubt that Patterson is developing extremely quickly and needs to be given more playing time this season.
Premier League clubs are reportedly already circling and it’s no surprise given his exploits for club and country at such a young age.
Gerrard has the best two right-backs in the league at his disposal and he’s clearly delighted with the progress the Academy’s poster boy is making.
Elsewhere in the press conference, Gerrard confirmed a blow for the Hearts game but then dropped an exciting tease.