Rangers insiders Heart & Hand have claimed that the Everton move for Nathan Patterson is worth up to £16m – with Rangers’ insistence on a sell-on fee initially a “stumbling block”.
Taking to Twitter as news of the deal broke on various news outlets, the reputable Rangers media partner claims that the transfer will be worth an initial £12m before potentially rising to £16m in add-ons.
As the tweet above also explains, Rangers have also successfully managed to insert a sell on clause into the deal which means the Gers stand to benefit from any future transfer.
The move is now being widely reported in the media with Sky Sports echoing the claims from Heart & Hand that the deal could reach £16m.
Rangers fans have largely been understanding regarding the move as the club begins to adopt the much-discussed player trading model at Ibrox.
Developing players either via the Academy – such as Nathan Patterson – or in buying low to sell on for profit is one of the four pillars of Rangers’ long-term business plan.
As the club wrestled back the title and built back following the financial disaster of 2012, sales have largely been put on hold to help build a squad capable of winning the title.
Reported Nathan Patterson to Everton deal a Rangers transfer record
Rangers have sold only Josh Windass for any meaningful fee in recent years – and that was only a reported £2.5m to Wigan Athletic – so this is a landmark moment for the club.
The sale of Nathan Patterson to Everton is a club record fee for a transfer received, smashing the previous record fee of £9m raised by the sale of fellow right-back Alan Hutton to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.
This move also impacts the squad much less than the sale of the likes of Joe Aribo, Ryan Kent or Glen Kamara in that the club’s captain, James Tavernier, is currently first choice right-back.
It’s a move which appears to benefit all parties and whilst it has not yet been confirmed at the time of writing, we’re sure Rangers fans will wish Nathan Patterson all the best as he moves to the Premier League.
In making the move to Everton, it not only symbolises a new era in the 20-year-old Scotland international right-back’s career, but also in Rangers’ transfer dealings.
It sends a message to the rest of football that Rangers expect top dollar for their top assets and it may well also help the club retain their best players for the rest of the window.
Nathan Patterson isn’t the only full-back Everton are splashing the cash on this window either, as a £17m deal concluded earlier in the week confirms.
