Rangers 'have made Everton aware' of what kind of bid for Nathan Patterson would be taken seriously, according to The 4th Official. 

The lowdown

The Mirror's John Cross reported on Sunday afternoon that the Toffees had tabled a £5m offer for the right-back.

Recruiting cover and competition for Seamus Coleman in that position is thought to be the club's main focus ahead of next week's transfer deadline.

Patterson made five Scottish Premiership appearances for Steven Gerrard's side last season and racked up a further four outings in the Europa League (via WhoScored). Scotland manager Steve Clarke was so impressed that he called up the 19-year-old for the European Championship earlier in the summer.

The teenager still has three years to run on his deal with the Gers, having agreed fresh terms as recently as January (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

According to The 4th Official, Rangers are said to be 'confident' in their stance and have communicated their demands to Everton.

It would apparently take a 'really significant outlay' to bring him to Merseyside, and The 4th Official claimed that the £5m figure initially reported is 'a bit misleading'; the Blues actually offered £4.2m up front.

The verdict

This would be a shrewd addition for Everton. Patterson would probably only feature sporadically at first given Coleman's long-standing status as a regular but the Irishman would progressively be phased out for his long-term successor.

Rangers, for their part, probably have a similar plan in mind, with first-choice right-back James Tavernier turning 30 in October.

How high should Everton be willing to go on a fee? Another couple of million would be reasonable, but with the transfer deadline now approaching, they should walk away swiftly if the gap in the clubs' respective valuations seems insurmountable.

In other news, many Everton fans were left fuming over this transfer news.