David Moyes to rival Everton for Jack Patterson transfer as West Ham United target teen midfielder

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According to the Belfast Telegraph, David Moyes is now battling Everton to take Crusaders midfielder Jack Patterson to West Ham United in the summer transfer window.

The Premier League duo have set their sights on signing Patterson after keeping tabs on his progress in Northern Ireland after breaking into the senior game aged just 15.

Stephen Baxter awarded Paterson his debut in January, only 78 days after his 15th birthday, making him the youngest-ever player to feature for Crusaders in a competitive fixture.

Everton had already begun monitoring Patterson’s situation at the time of his breakthrough, but now face competition from one of their former managers in Moyes after West Ham joined the hunt for his services.

Crusaders boss Baxter is noted to consider Patterson to be an extremely special talent and expects the teenager’s ability will see him go far in the game, having been blown away by the youngster.

“What a prospect the boy is,” Baxter said after Patterson’s debut. “We saw the talent that was recommended to us by our Youth Academy Director and in the few games he played for the Under 20 side, he was outstanding. We brought him into the first-team and I thought he was an incredible player for his age.”

Patterson remains on a steep learning curve and opportunities to feature in the senior fold have remained slim following his debut, but returned to the bench for the Crues’ in defeat to Linfield last week.

TBR’s view:

Patterson is clearly a special talent to be given his senior debut aged just 15, and could prove to be a very promising star for the future if West Ham or Everton are able to secure his services this summer.

Both sides have benefited vastly over the years from blending experienced pros with promising youngsters in their first-teams, although it would be likely that Patterson would be signed for their respective U18 or U23s sides whilst he adapts to new surroundings.

West Ham, in particular, could do with a fresh pair of legs in their U23s next season, having endured an underwhelming campaign with Dmitri Halajko’s development side leaving it late to seal their Premier League 2 Division 1 status for another year.