Everton close to agreeing second January transfer for Rangers full-back Nathan Patterson

Everton are close to agreeing a deal in the region of £10million for Nathan Patterson. The Toffees are desperate to move quickly following the opening of the January transfer window in a bid to get their season back on track following a turbulent start to Rafael Benitez’s tenure.

The Spaniard remains confident he can turn things around should he be backed with several new recruits in the market.

Now the Everton board are prepared to put their money where their mouth is after reportedly offering Benitez assurances, as they close in on the signing of Patterson.

Express Sport understands talks are now advanced between the Toffees and Rangers with an initial fee of around £10m currently under discussion.

The Scottish champions are also seeking to negotiate a number of performance-related add-ons into the deal. The details of which are currently undisclosed.

READ MORE: How Chelsea squad ‘reacted’ to Thomas Tuchel’s handling of Romelu Lukaku saga

Digne was left on the bench this afternoon as Everton were beaten 3-2 at home by Brighton.

Captain Seamus Coleman was instead shoehorned in at left-back and unsurprisingly struggled.

The performance once again highlighted Everton’s need for reinforcements and some quality in reserve.

New £18million signing Vitaliy Mykolenko was unveiled to the Goodison Park faithful before kick-off and he looks set to offer Benitez an injection of quality in the coming weeks.

At least one new midfielder is also on the agenda for the Toffees this month.

Patterson has built himself a credible reputation north of the border, providing healthy competition at Ibrox for ‘Gers captain James Tavernier.

The youngster has featured six times in the Scottish Premiership this term and made three appearances in the Europa League.

He was also part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for Euro 2020 last summer, making a cameo off the bench against Croatia at Hampden Park.

source: express.co.uk