There was a time - not all that long ago - when Nathan Patterson ’s move to Everton was shaping up as potential misstep of monumental proportions.
Signed by a terminally beleaguered boss in Rafa Benitez who was just days away from being sacked and chased out of Goodison, Patterson found himself left on the fringes of Frank Lampard’s big rebuild to such an extent he was in danger of becoming the forgotten £11million man. Not a kick of first team action until March. Then hauled off after 45 minutes of his debut in the FA Cup against Boreham Wood.
Patterson had swapped a seat on the bench at Ibrox for one in the stand on Merseyside. It was only when he turned up for duty with the national side for friendlies against Poland and Austria that Patterson was pulled out of this downward spiral - and showed Lampard what he had been missing all along.
