Glasgow Rangers have had an issue in both of the full-back positions in the first month or so of the season in all competitions under Russell Martin.
Jefte and Ridvan Yilmaz both left the club on permanent deals and Jayden Meghoma arrived on loan from Brentford, which means that the only natural left-back in the squad is a young and inexperienced loanee.
On the other side of the pitch, Max Aarons joined on loan from Bournemouth to compete with James Tavernier for a starting berth at right-back, but has failed to impress.
Why Max Aarons has been underwhelming for Rangers
The former England U21 international started the season as a first-choice full-back, at left-back and then at right-back, but found himself as an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw with Celtic last weekend.
Aarons was left on the bench after he was sent off against Club Brugge in the opening minutes of the 6-0 loss to the Belgian side for hauling down his former teammate Christos Tzolis.
In the three Scottish Premiership matches that the defender did start, the loanee failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for his team, and his lack of height and physicality was on display as he failed to win a single aerial duel, per Sofascore.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?
Whilst Aarons has been underwhelming and may find himself on the bench behind Tavernier for the time being, Rangers may look back and wonder what could have been with Nathan Patterson.
Nathan Patterson's current market value
In January 2022, Ross Wilson and Giovanni van Bronckhorst sanctioned the sale of the Scotland international to Everton for an initial fee of £11m.
That seemed like a great deal at the time, given that he was behind Tavernier in the pecking order, but they may look back on that decision as a howler when they consider how the situation has evolved in that position since then.
Patterson, whose deliveries into the box were hailed as “top class” by Steven Gerrard, is currently worth £13m, per Transfermarkt, and that is £8m more than Aarons’ market value of £5m.
Billy Gilmour
£17m
Nathan Patterson
£13m
Greg Taylor
£5m
Lewis Morgan
£3m
Ryan Hardie
£1.5m
As you can see in the table above, Billy Gilmour is the only former Rangers academy talent who is currently worth more than the Scottish right-back, whose value has risen by £2m since his move to Everton.
The 23-year-old defender has played 59 times for the Toffees, including 49 times in the Premier League, per Transfermarkt, and been capped 23 times by Scotland at senior level.
No permanent player within the Rangers squad is worth more than Patterson, per Transfermarkt, and this suggests that he could be the most valuable player at the club if they had not sold him back in 2022.
The Scottish right-back could have continued his development at Ibrox under Tavernier’s guidance before eventually taking his place as the first-choice right-back, which is something Aarons is already struggling to do.
Instead, Van Bronckhorst and Wilson cashed in on him and now the Light Blues are in a position where they have an underwhelming Aarons, on current evidence, competing for a starting berth in that role, instead of an incredibly gifted academy graduate who has now proven himself in the Premier League.
