There can’t be many clubs that face the prospect of breaking their transfer record by selling a fringe player, but this is exactly the position that Rangers find themselves in with Nathan Patterson and the interest from Everton in the Scotland international.
In any other position, the 20-year old would probably have made over 50 appearances by now but with his path to regular game time being blocked by the club captain, he has to make the most of every opportunity, regardless of where that might be on the pitch.
This is exactly what he has done though as shown by his status in the national team and that a Premier League side look set to offer an eight-figure bid to secure his services, as backed by current record holder Alan Hutton, as told to Football Insider:
“We’re talking £10million-plus. He’s not playing, it doesn’t look like Tavernier is going to go anywhere anytime soon.
“I think you’re looking at probably £10million plus add-ons. I know he’s not held down a regular place in the Rangers team but we’ve seen, given the opportunity, he can play at a high level.
“He’s played in European competitions, he’s an international player. Obviously, what he can become in the future, the talent is there for everybody to see.
“That’s probably about the price I’d be looking at.”
Hutton is right, we have to remember that Tavernier will be around for a good few years yet and that the new shape under Giovanni van Bronckhorst means he doesn’t have to cover the same distances that he used to every week under Steven Gerrard, if anything, the managerial change could prolong his career at Ibrox.
A fee of over £10m could mean that the likes of Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo don’t have to be sold in January and even though he is our best academy prospect since Barry Ferguson, we can’t turn down that sort of offer for a player that doesn’t need to be replaced or one who’s departure doesn’t weaken the first XI.