NATHAN PATTERSON is poised to complete his record-breaking departure from Rangers and clinch a long-term deal with Everton after moving a step closer to a dream switch to the Premier League.
The right-back will be confirmed as Rafa Benitez's second signing of the January transfer window after further discussions in recent days that saw Everton reach a £12million agreement with the champions and agree terms with one of their prized assets.
Rangers could eventually bank a further £4million as part of the deal should a range of bonus add-ons be met, while a sell-on fee has also been included following crunch talks.
The sale of Patterson eclipses the £9million that Rangers received from Alan Hutton's transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 as the 20-year-old leaves Ibrox just months after clinching the Premiership title last term.
Everton saw two bids for Patterson - the first of which was described as a 'joke' by former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard - rejected by the Ibrox board during the summer but Benitez has now landed one of his top targets at the third attempt.
The Spaniard completed a £17million move for Dynamo Kiev left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko earlier this week as he attempts to transform the Toffees' fortunes following a lacklustre first half of the campaign.
And Patterson is now set to be added to the Goodison Park ranks ahead of the FA Cup tie with Hull City this weekend as the Scotland internationalist begins the next stage of his fledgling career.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the Rangers manager, will look to replace Patterson within his squad and recruit back-up for captain James Tavernier as part of his January transfer strategy.
The champions are keen on a move for New York City starlet James Sands but it is understood that the 21-year-old won't be brought on board as a like-for-like replacement for Patterson.
Van Bronckhorst will allow fringe players to leave this month and could also target attacking reinforcements as aims to defend Rangers' Premiership crown and clinch Scottish Cup success this season.
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