Ibrox View: Killer pass from Rangers starlet Patterson is reminder of his big potential
Every glimpse we get of young Nathan Patterson is enough to leave Rangers fans everywhere brimming with optimism.
The young full-back looked fantastic in his senior debut against Stranraer last season, completing an incredible 100 successful actions, as per Wyscout.
As a point of reference, James Tavernier managed that total just once in the whole of last season.
We had to wait a while to see Patterson’s next competitive outing for the Gers, but we were treated to another look at the prodigious talent when Steven Gerrard brought him on for the last 15 minutes of the 1-0 Europa League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
Granted, he didn’t have too much to do in his brief cameo, but there was one moment in particular that was enough to get us out of our proverbial seats.
Patterson made six successful passes with a completion rate of 100%.
In terms of his total action success rate, he had a completion rate of 86%, which was 30% higher than Tavernier’s figure for the same game.
For Patterson, however, there was one ball he played that was out of this world.
This is his pass map against Leverkusen.
It’s all fairly basic, solid stuff apart from that stunning diagonal ball to the left flank.
And a closer look at it really emphasises why we should all be keeping a keen eye on the youngster.
Firstly, as the ball is played back to Allan McGregor, Patterson naturally pulls himself into a wider position to create the angle for the pass.
That cuts out the threat of the onrushing attacker, and simplifies things hugely for the keeper.
The next thing to notice is how quickly Patterson gets his head up.
As soon as he takes his touch, he is looking for a pass.
That may seem really simple, and in a lot of respects it is, but it’s also the foundation that allows him to pull off what comes next.
Having picked his target, the teenager delivers a ball that is genuinely as good as anything that his manager would have played back in his own heyday.
The man he’s trying to hit is Jordan Jones, circled above.
To even see that pass is impressive, but to execute it is ludicrous.
And the best thing about this isn’t just that he finds Jones, but rather that he plays the ball ahead of him into space to give him the best chance of getting in behind the backline.
You can already see how far ahead Jones is of his full-back purely because of how well-placed that ball in behind is.
Patterson makes it all look so effortless too.
Yes, it’s just one pass, and yes, he has a long way to go before he is a regular starter for the Gers, but moments like this are a prime reminder of why we all need to be paying very close attention to the young Scot.
In other Rangers news, Darren Fletcher has backed this Gers talent for big season in 20/21 after impressive showing v Aberdeen.