Everton news: ‘Old school’ Lampard is ‘bad news’ for £16m star Nathan Patterson – McLeish
Frank Lampard appears to be opting for experience over youth at Everton – and that is “bad news” for the likes of Nathan Patterson.
That is the view of former Rangers boss Alex Mcleish, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 20-year-old’s time at Goodison Park so far.
Patterson arrived on Merseyside on 4 January in a switch from Rangers that Football Insider understands could be worth up to £16million including add-ons.
But the right-back had to wait until Thursday night’s (3 March) FA Cup clash against non-league Boreham Wood to make his Toffees debut.
He was taken off at half-time as Lampard, who replaced Rafael Benitez in the dugout at the end of January, opted to desert his wing-back system.
Per the Glasgow Times after the eventual 2-0 Everton win, Lampard said: “It wasn’t necessarily a slam on Nathan Patterson, it’s not a nice on a debut.”
Patterson may struggle for game time while the manager continues to trust established players over rising stars, claims McLeish.
“Time will tell with Patterson,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“To be worth that kind of fee, Everton have obviously seen something tremendous in him.
“But he wasn’t a Lampard signing and he is tending to go for the more experienced guys in the big games.
“That’s bad news for some of the younger players, for the time being at least. But Boreham Wood was the perfect opportunity to give the kid a run-out.
“But Frank has ultimately reverted to the old school in order to get Everton back to the level that he is striving for.”
Jonjoe Kenny and Seamus Coleman appear to be ahead of Patterson in the pecking order at Goodison.
Lampard’s side are next in action against Tottenham next Monday (7 March).
In other news, pundit demands “10-game ban” after update on “horrific” Everton controversy in last 48 hours.