Nathan Patterson (footballer)

Nathan Patterson

Personal information
Full name	Nathan Kenneth Patterson [1]
Date of birth	(2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Everton
Number	2
Youth career
2009–2020	Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020–2022	Rangers	13	(1)
2022–	Everton	45	(0)
International career‡
2017–2018	Scotland U17	7	(1)
2018	Scotland U18	2	(0)
2019–2020	Scotland U19	6	(1)
2020–	Scotland U21	4	(2)
2021–	Scotland	21	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:25, 25 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:32, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Nathan Kenneth Patterson (born 16 October 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Everton and the Scotland national team.

Club career

Rangers

A Rangers youth graduate who attended Holyrood Secondary School in southern Glasgow as a participant in the Scottish Football Association's 'Performance Schools' development programme, ^{[3] [4]} Patterson signed a new contract on 21 December 2019, keeping him at the club until 2022. ^[5] He made his debut on 17 January 2020, in a Scottish Cup match against Stranraer at Ibrox Stadium. ^[6] He made his league debut against Kilmarnock on 22 August 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute in a 2–0 win. ^[7]

Patterson made his European debut on 10 December 2020, starting in a 2–0 away win against Polish side Lech Poznań. ^[8] He scored his first goal for the club on 25 February 2021, in a UEFA Europa League match against Royal Antwerp, scoring 16.6 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute. ^[9] Patterson played regularly for Rangers during the later part of their 2020–21 title-winning season, deputising for the injured James Tavernier, until he was suspended for breaching coronavirus pandemic rules. ^[10]

Everton

On 4 January 2022, Patterson signed for Everton on a five-and-a-half-year deal. ^{[11] [12]} The transfer fee was officially undisclosed, though it was believed to have been in the region of £11 million including add-ons. ^{[13] [11] [12] [note 1]} Having been signed by manager Rafa Benitez who was soon sacked, Patterson's Everton career got off to a slow start, initially playing for the under-23s ^[14] rather than the first team. ^[15] This trend continued for the entirety of the 2021-22 Premier League season, with Patterson making no first team appearances in the Premier League despite the club's continued high hopes for the player. ^[16] These limited opportunities for Patterson were, until April, due to the team wanting to give Patterson the time to adjust to the pace and freneticism of the Premier League before handing him a full debut. However, Patterson was unable to play after from 10 April onwards due to an ankle injury sustained in Everton's final training session before playing West Ham on 3 April. This ankle injury required surgery and ruled Patterson out for the remainder of the season. ^[17]

Patterson was named to start in all of Everton's four pre-season games before the commencement of the 2022-23 season. Throughout pre-season, he managed a total of two assists, both coming in the match against Blackpool (Vitaliy Mykolenko's 6th minute goal and Dele Alli's 64th minute goal). ^[18] Patterson's positive performances in pre-season earned him the plaudits of both his manager ^[19] and former footballers alike. ^[20]

After suffering a serious injury against Chelsea on 15 April 2024, ^[21] Patterson made his long-awaited return nearly ten months later in a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United. ^[22]

International career

Patterson has represented Scotland at various youth levels up to under-21s. ^[23] He was added to the full national squad for the first time in May 2021, ahead of the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. ^[24] Patterson made his full international debut in a pre-tournament friendly against Luxembourg, ^[25] came off the bench during the Euros against Croatia at Hampden Park, and made his first start against Moldova in September of that year during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. ^[26] On 12 November 2021, Patterson scored a first international goal when he opened the scoring in a vital 2–0 win away in Moldova before setting up Ché Adams for the second. This victory saw Scotland qualify for a World Cup play-off place. ^[27]

Due to the injury he picked up while playing for Everton, Patterson missed out on UEFA Euro 2024. ^[28]

Personal life

In February 2021, Patterson was one of five Rangers players fined by Scottish police "for attending an illegal gathering of 10 people in a flat" in breach of lockdown rules during the coronavirus pandemic. ^[29] Patterson and the other players were banned for six games by the SFA for the breach, although part of that sentence was suspended. ^[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rangers	2019–20 [30]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	1	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	2	0
	2020–21 [31]	Scottish Premiership	7	0	2	1	0	0	5 [c]	1	14	2
	2021–22 [32]	Scottish Premiership	6	0	0	0	2	0	3 [c]	0	11	0
	Total		13	0	3	1	2	0	9	1	27	2
Rangers B	2019–20 [33]	—			—		—		6 [d]	0	6	0
Everton	2021–22 [32]	Premier League	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2022–23 [34]	Premier League	19	0	0	0	2	0	—		21	0
	2023–24 [35]	Premier League	20	0	2	0	4	0	—		26	0
	2024–25 [36]	Premier League	6	0	1	0	0	0	—		7	0
	Total		45	0	4	0	6	0	—		55	0
Career total			58	0	7	1	8	0	15	1	88	2

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^{[37] [38]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Scotland	2021	6	1
	2022	5	0
	2023	8	0
	2024	2	0
Total		21	1

As of match played 26 March 2024

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Patterson goal. ^[37]

List of international goals scored by Nathan Patterson

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	12 November 2021	Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova	6	Moldova	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	[27]

Honours

Rangers

• Scottish Premiership: 2020–21 ^[39]

Notes

1. The Times reported ((subscription required)) that the fee was £11 million inclusive of add-ons.

References

1. "Updated squad lists for 2021/22 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
2. "Nathan Patterson: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
3. Malky Mackay on why 'four stone wet through and five feet high' Rangers kid was always destined to be a star, Stephen Halliday, The Scotsman, 28 May 2021
4. Scotland players' old schools send good luck messages, Henry Hepburn, TES (magazine), 11 June 2021
5. "Nathan Patterson Signs New Contract". rangers.co.uk. 21 December 2019.
6. Watt, Martin (17 January 2020). "Rangers 2–0 Stranraer". BBC Sport.
7. "Rangers 2–0 Kilmarnock: 'Sharper' Kemar Roofe delights Steven Gerrard". BBC Sport. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
8. Campbell, Andy (23 August 2020). "Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
9. Watt, Martin (25 February 2021). "Rangers 5-2 Royal Antwerp". BBC Sport. BBC.
10. "Rangers: Five players have appeal dismissed after Covid breach". BBC Sport. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
11. "Nathan Patterson: Everton complete signing of Scotland right-back from Rangers". BBC. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
12. "Nathan Patterson: Everton sign right-back from Rangers in £16m deal". Sky Sports. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
13. "Everton seal deal for right back Nathan Patterson from Rangers".
14. "Nathan Patterson handed Everton Under-23s debut". SportsMole. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
15. Pirie, Mark (5 February 2022). "Nathan Patterson post Rangers waiting game continues as new Everton boss Frank Lampard turns to Celtic flop". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
16. "Nathan Patterson Premier League statistics". 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
17. "Nathan Patterson Ankle Injury Requires Surgery". 6 April 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
18. "Blackpool vs Everton Result, Score and Updates". 24 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
19. "Patterson earns Frank Lampard's praise". 25 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
20. "Former Everton midfielder Scott Gemmill lauds Patterson's performances". 26 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
21. "Nathan Patterson: Everton and Scotland right-back ruled out for season". 19 April 2024 – via www.bbc.com.
22. "Man Utd 4-0 Everton: Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee on target as Ruben Amorim gets first Premier League win". Sky Sports.
23. "Nathan Patterson Scottish FA player profile". scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
24. "Scotland include Gilmour, Patterson & Turnbull for Euro finals". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
25. Watt, Martin (6 June 2021). "Luxembourg 0–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
26. "Andy Robertson reveals 'calm down' chat with Nathan Patterson as Rangers kid hailed for Scotland display". The Scotsman. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
27. "Moldova 0–2 Scotland: Steve Clarke's men seal World Cup play-off spot". BBC Sport. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
28. "Scotland right-backs Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey ruled out of Euro 2024". The Irish News. 20 May 2024.
29. Lindsay, Matthew (20 February 2021). "Rangers midfielder Bongani Zungu set to depart Ibrox this summer following Covid-19 lockdown breach". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
30. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
31. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
32. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
33. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
34. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
35. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
36. "Games played by Nathan Patterson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
37. "Nathan Patterson". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
38. Nathan Patterson at the Scottish Football Association
39. "Rangers top-flight champions for first time since 2011 after Celtic drop points". BBC Sport. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.

External links

• Profile at the Everton F.C. website
• Nathan Patterson at the Scottish Football Association
• Nathan Patterson – UEFA competition record ( archive )