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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
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Connor O'Neill

'Still rankles with me' - Nathan Patterson makes Rangers transfer admission and reveals Everton promise

Nathan Patterson has revealed he’d love to return to Rangers one day as he believes he has 'unfinished business' at the Ibrox club.

Patterson has been one of Everton’s standout performers so far this term. The full-back c ompleted a move to Goodison Park from Rangers back in January but initially struggled to make a meaningful impact.

But to his credit, the Scotland international has bounced back with renewed purpose this season and impressed with a string of impressive displays. Those fine performances led to Blues supporters making a song for the defender based on the Following The Sun by SUPER-Hi x NEEKA tune.

READ MORE: Tactics, progress and transfers - Frank Lampard's take on the big Everton questions

EXCLUSIVE: Everton have January transfer shortlist as Frank Lampard explains 'priority' target

The right-back suffered an ankle injury in Scotland’s 3-0 Nations League win over Ukraine back in September and made his return to action in the Carabao Cup and Premier League defeats against Bournemouth before the World Cup break.

Patterson is under contract at Everton until 2027, and even though he admits he is loving life at Goodison Park, the 21-year-old has revealed he’d love to play for Rangers again in the future and win more silverware with the Scottish giants.

He said: “Of course I’d love to go back to Rangers later on in my career and finish what I started. It would be great to finish at Ibrox. It’s where I started off my career so it would be nice to play in front of those fans again.

“There’s a bit of unfinished business for me. I was involved in 55 but I’d like to go back and get more titles. I went to Seville last summer for the Europa League Final and hoped they could win it but they just fell short.

"Just seeing Rangers in a European final again was massive, though, and it shows how far the club has come. But right now, I’m really happy at Everton and want to continue to progress here and I’m fully focused on doing well at Goodison.”

Speaking on his transfer to Everton, Patterson admits deep down he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. However, his one regret is that he didn’t get the send-off he had envisaged when it eventually came to leaving Ibrox behind.

“I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye properly to anyone at Rangers," he told Mailsport. “We weren’t training around that time so I didn’t get that opportunity.

"I’d been going into the training ground for 12 years, since I was eight years old, so it still rankles with me. It probably didn’t end the way I hoped it would especially as I’d been there so long.

"I felt there were a few things that me and my family were a bit disappointed with in the sense of how the club handled them, but it’s done now.

“And I’ll always be a massive Rangers fan. I still watch them every week. My dad’s a big Rangers man too. It was his dream to see me play for the club. But he knew I might not get this chance again.

“He was even more supportive of the move than I was. He realised it was an easy decision. And at least it’s still blue shirts he’s cheering on at Everton!

“It was a shock when I heard clubs were in for me. But I suppose it was good to know top teams were willing to pay all sorts of money to buy me.

“I was sitting in the house with my family when I got the call to say the deal with Everton was done. It was a weird feeling. I’d been at Rangers so long, I didn’t know any different. But I love a challenge.

“Of course, it was a wrench to leave. When I left the training ground for the last time it was strange to think I might not be back again.

"When I drove down to Merseyside, I thought, ‘A couple of days ago I was in my house as a Rangers player and now I’m signing for Everton’. It was surreal. But I’ve loved it so far.

“I don’t think anyone in the Rangers team would have turned down the chance to play in the Premier League. You have to think about what’s best for your career.

"I wanted playing time and wasn’t getting that at Rangers. I was promised it at Everton and I’ve kicked on here.”

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