Luis Diaz at Liverpool or Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli? It’s tough for Nathan Patterson to decide who was more difficult to play against between the Colombian and Brazilian internationals. But the choice highlights one thing. The jump from Scottish Premiership to the English Premier League is even bigger than he expected.
Patterson secured a record-breaking £16million transfer from Rangers to Everton a year ago. After a challenging start to life at Goodison, he’s now Frank Lampard’s first-pick at right-back. And he’s still only 21. The Scot has been blown away by the standard of players in England’s top flight.
He believes the stars down south are more steadfast in their work, especially off the pitch. That has prompted Patterson to work one-on-one with Everton’s sports science team in a bid to reach the required level. He got a shock playing against Martinelli but in terms of the hardest opponent he has faced in the Premier League so far, he says it’s £37m man Diaz. Patterson managed to keep him quiet in a 0-0 Merseyside derby draw back in September.
