Alan Hutton, formerly of the Ibrox parish, believes that if Rangers decide to cash in on right-back, James Tavernier, that they have an able replacement waiting in the wings.
Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton believes that Nathan Patterson would be the man to fill the skipper’s creative boots for Steven Gerrard’s men.
So what has Hutton said?
Speaking about recent speculation linking Tavernier with a move back down south and his inconsistent form this season, Hutton said:
“I think he’s one of those guys, he’s set his bar very high. We just have to look at his goals and his assists, he’s been magnificent if we really break it down during his time at Rangers.
“When you set the bar that high, when you don’t get to that level people start to pick holes in you. He’s had a bit of an up and down season, it’s happened to every single footballer across the world.
“He’s not alone but he’s now the captain and it’s about how you deal with it, the pressure that comes with it. It’s difficult times. Maybe they see young Patterson coming through, maybe challenging him and seeing how that figures itself out.
“Whether it is time to cash in or not, only Gerrard will know – he always speaks very highly of Tavernier. Maybe he’s thinking it’s time for a new test, we don’t know.”
So is Hutton correct?
Gerrard preferred to give the more experienced Matt Polster a run in the team when Tavernier was recovering from appendix surgery after the winter break, despite raving about Patterson’s potential and the youngster performing well on his debut against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup.
The American won’t be seen as Tavernier’s long-term successor and was nearly out the door in January, only for the captain’s illness to cancel any move.
Tavernier has had a decent season in terms of numbers, he is part of the best defence in the league, has 14 assists to his name and has led his side to the last 16 of the Europa League, unfortunately his season has seen individual errors and penalty misses blight his copybook.
Patterson is very reminiscent of Hutton himself when he first broke through, athletic, determined, attack-minded but very raw, however, Gerrard has shown with Glenn Middleton that if he believes you are good enough he will play you regardless of age.
Unfortunately, with nobody knowing when the football season will even kick off again, Patterson may have to wait even longer to make his much-anticipated impact on the first-team at Ibrox especially if Tavernier decides to stick around.