Nathan Patterson could be ousted into Everton wilderness after Seamus Coleman new contract confirmed
Although the news that Seamus Coleman will extend his stay at Everton by another year is a huge boost to Sean Dyche moving forward, it leaves Nathan Patterson at risk of being ousted into the wilderness.
The Scottish right-back arrived from Rangers under Rafa Benitez in a deal worth £16million but has struggled to nail down a consistent starting spot under both Frank Lampard and Dyche since then.
Towards the end of last season, Dyche even admitted that the 21-year-old wasn’t a “bona fide” Premier League player, and this has once again been portrayed by the club snapping up Coleman for another season.
The club confirmed on Thursday evening that the Toffees captain would be staying at Goodison Park for his 15th year, with the veteran signing a new one-year contract.
The extension makes the 34-year-old the longest-serving player in the Premier League and now highly likely to overtake Tim Howard as the club’s record appearance-maker in the league.
A knock-on effect of this contract news could be a depreciation of Patterson’s value on Merseyside and the possibility of another season warming the bench under Dyche.
Although the defender managed to rack up 19 appearances and over 1000 minutes last term, these usually came when Coleman was out injured or unfit to feature.
At times last season, Dyche preferred to use both Ben Godfrey or Mason Holgate out of position ahead of Patterson – which ended in disaster on more than one occasion – while in the crunch games, Everton’s 34-year-old was usually fielded.
When Everton added Patterson to their ranks in 2022, it was with one eye towards a future successor to Coleman on Merseyside, however, it is becoming apparent that he isn’t quite ready to fill these shoes just yet.
The Scotland international certainly has the potential to succeed in the long run at Everton, but for now, he might have to be content watching his right-back competitor deliver the goods for one more season.
In other Everton news, the Toffees want to sign a “prized asset” from Leeds United amid a likely Elland Road “exodus” this summer.