Toffees will step up bid to net Gers kid Nathan
started to make himself a fixture in the Scotland squad in recent games.
Patterson has found firstteam football at Rangers more of a challenge.
He has struggled to get into the side ahead of captain James Tavernier but new boss van Bronckhorst has given him more game time since he has come into the club.
Everton boss Rafa Benitez and his recruitment team have made the signing of two full-backs the No.1 priority for the Goodison Park squad.
Patterson is amongst the top targets at right-back while Dynamo Kiev’s Vitaliy Mykolenko is the man for the left-back slot.
Everton are looking for a long-term replacement for captain Seamus Coleman, who has just turned 33.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is set to be backed by his board during the transfer window in January.
That could spell more bad news for Rangers with Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo both on their former gaffer’s radar as targets.
Premier League rivals Southampton had Aribo watched at the weekend against Dundee United as he was thrown in as a sub with Gers toiling.
Gerrard has been told he can go out and sign a replacement for Zimbabwe midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, who has been ruled out for up to four months.
Midfielders Aribo and Kamara were big players for Gerrard when he won the title last season and he is likely to look to go back to his old club in the first instance.
Rangers, though, won’t be held to ransom and will only sell if a club meets their valuation.
Any sales could allow van Bronckhorst to put his own stamp on the squad.