Ross McCrorie walking back through the door at Rangers should have simplified the right-back debate. Instead, it may have sharpened it.
The academy graduate has returned from Bristol City on a three-year contract, with the club holding an option for a further year, in a move confirmed by Rangers as Derek McInnes begins reshaping the squad he inherited at Ibrox.
On paper, the logic is obvious. McCrorie is homegrown, physically mature, tactically flexible and trusted by McInnes, who took him from Rangers to Aberdeen earlier in his career. He can cover right-back, centre-back and midfield. He also arrives with the sort of emotional alignment supporters instinctively understand: a Rangers player returning as a better, tougher, more rounded professional.
Yet that is exactly why the Nathan Patterson question has become so intriguing.
Rangers have been linked with a possible move to bring the Everton right-back back to Ibrox, with TransferFeed tracking reports that Everton may listen to offers and that wages would be a major consideration. Yahoo Sports has also carried the line that Rangers could accelerate the situation after developments elsewhere in the market.
This is no longer a simple nostalgia transfer. It is a test of how McInnes wants his Rangers side to function, how much of the budget can be committed to one position, and whether the club should double down on reliability or gamble on a higher-ceiling homecoming.
Welcome back to Rangers, Ross McCrorie.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 25, 2026
McCrorie Changes The Floor Of The Rangers Defence
The most important thing McCrorie gives Rangers is not glamour. It is a floor.
That matters because this summer is not a normal squad refresh. James Tavernier’s long hold on the right side has ended, Max Aarons is gone after his loan spell, and McInnes is trying to put structure around a team that has already spent too many recent seasons reacting to instability rather than controlling it.
McCrorie does not have to be sold as a mystery profile. Rangers know his character. McInnes knows his training habits. The player knows the club’s temperature. In his first interview back at Rangers, McCrorie spoke about needing the mentality to handle the club and said he wanted to help the team win trophies. That is exactly the sort of language a manager uses as dressing-room infrastructure.
His positional range also gives McInnes options that were badly needed. Rangers can use him as a conservative right-back in harder fixtures, as a right-sided centre-back in a back three, or as a midfield protection piece when games become stretched. That versatility is not a side note. It gives Rangers the ability to buy one player and solve several matchday problems.
But versatility can also expose the next question. If McCrorie is at his most valuable when he can move across roles, do Rangers still need a specialist right-back with more natural thrust?
Patterson Is A Different Kind Of Bet
Patterson would represent a very different decision.
When he left Rangers for Everton in January 2022, Sky Sports reported the deal was worth up to £16 million, including add-ons. That figure still shapes the psychology around him. Rangers sold a young academy right-back at premium value. Bringing him back would inevitably be judged against the player he was expected to become.
The attraction is still clear. Patterson has elite athletic qualities, carries the ball aggressively and understands what the stadium demands. A fit, confident Patterson gives Rangers a vertical right side, especially in games where opponents sit deep and force the full-backs to become creators.
That is the part McCrorie does not naturally replicate. McCrorie can give security, duels and game intelligence. Patterson can give speed, width and recovery pace in the final third. If McInnes wants his right side to become a source of pressure rather than simply a stabilized zone, Patterson remains one of the most interesting names on the list.
The risk sits in the same place as the upside. Patterson’s Everton career has never quite found the rhythm his talent promised. Injuries, managerial changes and limited runs in the team have made him a harder player to price cleanly. If Everton’s valuation remains high and the wage gap is significant, Rangers would have to ask whether they are buying today’s player or paying for the memory of a prospect who once looked ready to explode.
The Right-Back Depth Chart Now Has Two Paths
The McCrorie signing gives Rangers a choice between two squad-building models.
The first is the disciplined model. McCrorie becomes the senior right-side solution, Dujon Sterling competes when fit, and Rangers spend bigger money elsewhere. That would free budget for central defence, midfield dynamism and a right-sided attacker, all areas that could define the early months of McInnes’ reign.
The second is the aggressive model. Rangers treat McCrorie as the utility piece, not the final right-back answer, then move for Patterson if the financial terms soften. That would give McInnes a stronger range of right-side profiles: McCrorie for control, Patterson for acceleration, Sterling as power and depth.
The second route is more exciting, but it is also more expensive and harder to justify unless Patterson is available on a structure that protects Rangers. A permanent deal at inflated Premier League wages would be a serious commitment. A loan with an option, or a fee tied to appearances and availability, would look far more aligned with the club’s needs.
That is why the timing matters. Rangers do not need to panic. McCrorie has reduced the desperation around the position. If Everton need movement later in the window, Rangers can negotiate from a calmer place.
McInnes Must Avoid Rebuilding The Same Position Twice
The danger for Rangers is not signing Patterson. The danger is signing Patterson without a clear role.
McInnes has inherited a squad that needs clarity quickly. Rangers open the Scottish Premiership away to Dundee United on July 31 before an Ibrox league bow against Hibernian, according to the official fixture release. The first European qualifiers will only tighten the preparation window.
That means every transfer has to reduce uncertainty, not add more of it.
If Patterson arrives as the first-choice right-back, Rangers would need to be comfortable with McCrorie becoming a rotation defender and occasional midfielder. If Patterson arrives as competition, the cost must reflect that. If he does not arrive at all, McInnes still has to ensure the right side has enough speed and attacking quality to avoid becoming predictable.
This is where the club’s previous Tavernier succession debate becomes relevant. Replacing a captain who dominated one corridor for more than a decade was never going to be a one-player fix. It requires a blend of leadership, output, availability and tactical compatibility.
McCrorie answers leadership and availability. Patterson would be asked to answer upside and attacking thrust. Rangers have to decide whether they need both.
The Verdict: Patterson Only Makes Sense On Rangers Terms
McCrorie’s return should not automatically end the Patterson conversation. It should change the price Rangers are willing to pay for it.
Before McCrorie, Patterson could be framed as a necessary homecoming: an academy graduate returning to fill a glaring right-back vacancy after Tavernier’s exit. After McCrorie, he becomes a luxury with a purpose. That is a narrower category, and it demands sharper negotiation.
If Everton are prepared to create a deal that reflects Patterson’s recent lack of rhythm, Rangers should stay alive to it. A fit Patterson in Glasgow, under a manager demanding directness and intensity, still has the ingredients to become one of the most dynamic full-backs in the division.
If the financials remain heavy, McInnes should walk away without regret.
The new manager has already landed a player he trusts in McCrorie. The next decision is whether Rangers want to lock down the right side or supercharge it. Patterson is the exciting answer, but only if the club remember the lesson of this rebuild: sentiment can start a conversation, but value has to finish it.
