IT'S always painful to say goodbye to a player of quality, never mind one who has been reared through the youth system with passion for the club palpably flowing through his veins like Nathan Patterson. 

And yet, this time, it seems conventional logic about how a transfer should be received has been turned on its head.  

Rangers fans seem sanguine. Celtic fans, rather than delighted about seeing a good player depart to Everton, seem slightly unmoored by the quantum of the deal. Much has changed since the 1990s but this dynamic has been a remarkable addition to Scottish football, few would have predicted. 

I first came across this tall and rangy kid, his long strides eating up the pitch during a youth game at Firhill in 2019. He was a stand-out, like a man amongst boys - a James Tavernier clone flying down the right with the same level of attacking verve. 

After the game, his coach, Graeme Murty tried to play down the youngster’s impact amid some slightly breathless questioning from yours truly, but it was obviously part of a protection strategy rather than a reaction to the performance. There was a glint in Murty’s eye as he talked about hard work and long roads ahead. He knew as I did. Sometimes it’s just obvious. 

Unsurprisingly Patterson was already attracting under the radar interest from England where clubs have been circling for years, waiting to pounce like Chelsea did with his friend Billy Gilmour.  

Against the odds, Rangers managed to retain the youngster by creating an attractive enough pathway to retain his services.  

So, it was no surprise to see him introduced to the first team by Steven Gerrard a matter of months later against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup. He’s never looked back. 

His rise since then, a top performer in Europe and against Celtic, a Scotland regular and the subject of multi-million pound bids only underlines what was glaring in that tie against Young Boys in the UEFA Youth League – this kid is the real deal.  

Yet he’s barely really played because in his way stands the club's best right-back of the last 25-years, James Tavernier.  

READ MORE: James Tavernier comes full circle as Rangers captain sent back to the future by GVB blueprint

It’s remarkable that this generational talent has emerged at precisely the moment when a legendary captain has made the right-back slot undisputedly his own. Football has a cruel habit of throwing up these situations. Look at the Scotland national team where there are top class left-backs everywhere you look and no central defenders to speak of. 

It’s this Tavernier blocker that makes a deal with Everton the perfect solution to the ongoing problem of trying to accommodate two top-class right-backs into a side long drilled into a 4-3-3 formation. 

While Patterson’s departure has been reported as a fait accompli, the youngster still has to agree personal terms and complete a medical. History tells us these things are rarely as straightforward as you might initially believe. But if these details are ironed out over the next few days, a deal that could be worth up to £16 million to the Ibrox coffers represents a phenomenal start to the player trading model long vaunted by the board as the way to bring the club to self-sustainability.  

The club’s losses have been well documented as the board have spent significant sums to repair the damage wreaked by a succession of bad actors in the boardroom and return it to former glory. But that kind of investment couldn’t go on indefinitely.  

Douglas Park and his colleagues have been incredibly transparent about the need to sell with precision as a means to bring the club into an era of financial equilibrium.  

They have done that here in a way that puts a marker down for the club’s status as a seller. This is no panic sale. A second choice player going for such huge money will send a clear message to any club who fancies a pop at Joe Aribo or Ryan Kent. A baseline has now been established and it’s hard to overstate the importance of such moves in the market. 

It’s a delicate balance, ultimately, Rangers want to sell players as part of their model. But at a time and at a price that suits.  

READ MORE: Nathan Patterson's Rangers to Everton transfer fees and add-ons revealed ahead of big money move

Look at how Portuguese clubs like Benfica and Porto, similarly huge but stuck in a league that suffers without enormous TV revenue, have managed to increase fees for their talent over the years. It’s something they have built over many transfers and the proven success of the players who depart. This Everton deal represents an ideal start for what the club will hope is the start of a conveyer belt of solid deals. 

And the board aren't the only ones this transfer would work for.  

This also represents a good deal for Patterson, who gets to test himself at a truly great club in the world’s richest league. We know that kids coming through the ranks now don’t always see Ibrox as their horizon anymore in the world of polarised football wealth. He is off to rub shoulders with the big boys and with Seamus Coleman now 33, and well past his best, opportunities to face the elite will come quickly. 

Similarly, Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be delighted the team isn’t weakened with Tavernier firmly established as the first choice. In Leon Balogun there is also a very able deputy waiting in the wings. If you have any doubts about that, ask a certain Mr Furuhashi. 

Simply put, when a deal works for everyone, it’s time to shake hands. 

Losing a good player isn’t ever to be celebrated at a club like Rangers. But if there was ever a time where a deal ticks all the boxes and everyone can walk away happy, it’s now.