The potential of American investment in Rangers should, in theory, open up the door to Ibrox to a higher calibre of player and coach.
The San Francisco 49ers are closing in on a completion of their purported takeover, reports on Tuesday suggesting that a deal has been agreed in principle.
As such, with Paraag Marathe expected to secure a 51 per cent stake in the Premiership’s great underachievers, Rangers may no longer be quite so reliant on bargain buys and free-agents at a time when Old Firm rivals Celtic are continually growing both their silverware collection and their personal fortune.
According to the Daily Record, meanwhile, there is now a genuine chance that Rafa Benitez is the next man in the Rangers hotseat.
The Spaniard’s reputation may not be quite what it was – an ill-advised spell at Everton went about as disastrously as one could imagine – but this is still a coach with Real Madrid, Liverpool, Napoli, Chelsea and Inter Milan on his CV.
A La Liga, Champions League, FA Cup and Coppa Italia champion.
Philippe Clement might have felt like a coup back in 2023 – the Belgian arrived at Ibrox back after a spell at French giants Monaco – but Benitez is in another league entirely.
Quite clearly, if this is a sign of things to come, the San Francisco 49ers are not afraid of thinking big and aiming high.
Rafa Benitez signed Nathan Patterson from Rangers while at Everton
The last time Benitez was mentioned in the same breath as Rangers, he was raiding Ibrox for their Glasgow-born homegrown hero.
It was the veteran tactician who pushed for Everton to complete a £16 million deal for young Nathan Patterson just 27 games into his senior career.
And, when explaining why he had pursued Patterson so keenly, Benitez admitted that he had been charmed by the 20-year-old’s aggression both on and off the ball. Patterson, he felt, was the perfect blend on dynamic and defensively-secure.
“If you analyse my teams, they are aggressive. They go on the front foot and press, and try to regain the ball high up the pitch, create chances and score goals and, at the time, keep the balance,” Benitez said three years ago.
“Keeping the balance between defence and attack is key for winning something. Not just winning games, winning trophies. Bringing in these two young players with energy [fellow full-back Vitaliy Mykolenko also arrived in the middle of 2021/22], they can go forward and attack, is key for the future of the club.
“Nathan has the characteristics we are looking for. Players who like to go forward and provide crosses to the players up front.”
Rangers should consider Patterson return as James Tavernier makes 500th appearance
In a move typical of Everton’s muddled thinking under Farhad Moshiri, Benitez would be sacked just days after urging The Toffees to complete a deal for the Rangers academy graduate.
Flash forward to 2025 and Patterson – now 23 years of age – has never felt more peripheral at Goodison Park. Injuries have restricted his progress but, even after returning to selection, David Moyes has preferred to use central defender Jake O’Brien wide on the right.
So, could Benitez bring about an emotional homecoming for Nathan Patterson? Should the San Francisco 49ers secure the former, could they then turn their attention to the latter?
This is all hypothetical, of course.
One thing that cannot be debated, however, is that a new right-back is a must at Ibrox. James Tavernier made his 500th Rangers appearance in Saturday’s defeat to Motherwell. While his longevity deserves immense praise, however, Tavernier is also now 33, going on 34. A
decade Patterson’s senior.
Ambitious American investment at Rangers makes the appointment of a coach as experienced and as decorated as Benitez a genuine possibility. In turn, it could also open the door for Patterson to pick up where he left off north of the border.
And, for Benitez to finally spend some time on the training pitch with a man he clearly rates so highly.
