Former Everton winger Pat Nevin doesn't believe Blues supporters need to 'worry' about the signing of Nathan Patterson.
The Blues signed the right-back from Rangers in the January transfer window. However, he is yet to make his mark at Goodison Park, thanks to an unfortunate injury record.
Patterson endured a frustrating end to the season, making just one start - in the FA Cup against Boreham Wood in March. The 20-year-old then required surgery on an ankle problem in April that curtailed his season early.
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And Nevin has now moved to reassure Everton fans about the young full-back. The former winger believes Patterson is the 'real deal' and that the Blues have signed a solid successor to Seamus Coleman.
"I think it was injury above everything," Nevin told BoyleSports, for Football Scotland. "He had a niggle when he went down there and then he got a longer-term one after that.
"So that was the thing that held him back. Sometimes it's hard to come back from an injury into a struggling team. The manager is trying a million different things.
"I was at the game where we played Boreham Wood and that was Nathan's start or his restart after his injuries. And it went really badly, not for him but the team was having a stinker.
"I was calling it on the radio, Frank needed to change the system. Then he did and because of the system change the guy who had to go off was Nathan.
"But Everton fans shouldn't worry about it, Nathan's the real deal. It's not about anything other than he had an injury, that happens sometimes.
"The team was struggling, I would say to Everton fans, 'that's not one to worry about.'
"Coleman was phenomenal in that position for a long time, but it's coming to that time where he will need replacing and they have made a really good decision in signing Nathan."
