While Everton have suffered a turbulent few months with off-the-field issues resulting in an eight-point deduction, manager Sean Dyche has impressed this season with the Toffees' securing their Premier League status for next term.

The Merseyside club have turned their form around in recent weeks, with their four-game unbeaten run enough to pull themselves clear of any looming danger despite the troubles with PSR.

The financial problems behind the scenes at Goodison Park have been well documented and have prevented Dyche from investing heavily in his squad, restricting him to working with players who were at the club before his appointment.

Injuries and various other reasons have seen the Toffees' boss rely on some younger players to do the business this season, with Jarrad Branthwaite the main beneficiary – starting 33 times in the Premier League this campaign.

However, the manager has been let down by some of his first-team squad this season, with one player, in particular, struggling with his fitness and yet to showcase his best at Goodison Park.

Nathan Patterson's stats at Everton

After joining the club in January 2022 under boss Rafa Benitez, full-back Nathan Patterson had high hopes of being the club's long-term Seamus Coleman replacement.

He joined from Rangers for a fee in the region of £16m, a figure that was then the highest figure ever received for a player from Ibrox, with the youngster signing a five-and-a-half-year deal at Goodison Park.

However, over two years on from his arrival on Merseyside, he's only made 48 appearances for the club, with only 20 coming during the 2023/24 campaign.

2021/22

1

45'

2022/23

21

1,431'

2023/24

26

1,411'

Patterson has only started 25% of matches under Dyche this season, missing the last four Premier League outings with a fresh hamstring issue.

At just 22, the Scotsman could still prove to be a success at Goodison, but for the time being he's failed to prove his worth, with his market value taking a nose dive as a result of his lack of game time.

Nathan Patterson's market value in 2024

After just two appearances in 2024, the Scotsman's value has decreased to just £6m, as per Football Transfers – a drop of £10m from the fee that the club paid for him in January 2022.

His subsequent value is now less than defender James Tarkowski, who joined the club on a free transfer from Burnley just six months prior to Patterson's arrival at the club.

The centre-back is now worth £17.8m, a huge jump from his transfer that cost the club nothing – another example of the excellent dealings conducted by the Toffees in recent seasons.

Patterson undoubtedly still has the potential to be a hit at the club, but for now, he's got to bide his time with Ben Godfrey currently looking undroppable after his recent stint covering at right-back.

However, he has the opportunity during pre-season to stake his claim for a starting spot, with the defender needing to grasp the next opportunity that comes his way if he's to become a regular under Dyche next season.

Having spent over two years now on Merseyside, time is perhaps running out for the former Gers man to make an impact…

Everton played a blinder on Koeman signing who's now worth less than Keane

He failed to demonstrate his qualities during his time at Goodison Park.

ByEthan Lamb