Everton linked with another Scottish right back

Everton’s hunt for the next Seamus Coleman, both positionally and in terms of value, continues unabated even with the summer transfer window now closed. After many names being linked with the Blues over the summer in their quest to find a long term heir to the club captain, a new name has arrived within the last few days.

According to Scottish media sources, Calvin Ramsay of Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership is the latest name to be put forward and if true, there seems to be a definite direction that Everton are headed in. Toffees scouts were in place to watch him when they exited Europe against Qarabag, and then again last weekend in the loss to Motherwell, both games where he acquitted himself very well.

In the words of his manager Stephen Glass -

“His performance level was brilliant throughout playing against a real top player or two on that side, three if you include the centre forward as well. It’s a great learning experience and it doesn’t look like he has to learn but there are little situations where he could have done better.

“He’s going to be a top, top player.”

The Blues were actively linked with the pursuit of Nathan Patterson towards the end of the summer transfer window, with Everton supposedly having made two bids for the young Glasgow Rangers right back.

Ramsay is an exciting 18-year-old talent with eight first team appearances and a handful of Scotland Under-21 caps. He is very similar to Patterson who is an exciting and athletic ‘modern’ right back with has seven first team appearances and a handful of full caps for the Scotland national team.

Everton definitely appear to be looking in Scotland and at the longer term for the position which is a great strategy. Although neither of the names put forward will be bought on the cheap given their current high potential, the fees historically between the Scottish and English Premier League clubs have not been high with the odd exception such as Virgil van Dijk to our neighbours across Stanley Park.

Such a signing, especially given the years ahead of them in which to grow their potential would seem to be a risk worth taking. In Seamus Coleman we still have one of the better right backs in the Premier League. He is doing an awesome job as our club captain and is in fine personal form at the beginning of this season too, but, as we all know, time marches on and Seamus is one hamstring pull away from an absence that will still cause us real issues.

Those issues will not be resolved before January and in the meantime the club may have to utilise Jonjoe Kenny who does not appear to have a long-term future or play Mason Holgate or Ben Godfrey out of position in order to help the team. The time between now and January does however give the club the opportunity to see these Scottish prospects in action and assess their true worth and future value to Everton. There is a danger of course that potential fees will rise.

It was widely reported that Rangers rebuffed £5 million and £8 million offers from Everton in August for Patterson. Sadly, the days of discovering a 20-year-old boy at Sligo Rovers in Ireland in 2009 and getting him for a bargain £60 thousand are long gone. The modern day equivalent of the fans’ “Sixty Grand Seamus Coleman” chant that follows the Republic of Ireland international around may just turn out to have the names of Ramsay or Patterson in the next year. The one cast iron certainty is that inflation will have changed the rest of the song!