Andy Gray might live and work in the Middle East these days but his eyes and ears remain sharply focused on Ibrox.
And when a youngster from Rangers makes an £11m move to another of his former clubs, Everton, you can bet your boots the former Scotland striker is sitting up and paying attention.
Gray arrived at his beloved Gers at the sunset of a glittering career that saw him win the English league, FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup with the Merseyside outfit.
Nathan Patterson has left Ibrox on a five and a half year contract that looks like the dawn of a glittering career for Everton, while making him the most expensive export in Rangers' history.
Gray, who has watched the 20-year-old's rapid development from the perspective of Gers fan and top football analyst with beIN Sports, has no doubt that Patterson will be a hit down south.
In fact, he believes the right back can make the same impact as Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney have done for Liverpool and Arsenal when he adapts to the standard of the English Premier League and gets a grip on the defensive side of the game.
The 66-year-old, speaking to Record Sport from Qatar, said: "Nathan's not played much, obviously, but I've seen him for Rangers and for Scotland.
"The boy is a talent. There isn't a doubt about that and I would want him to stay at Rangers in a perfect world.
"But I understand that if you've got James Tavernier, the club captain, ahead of you in the pecking order, you'd be thinking to yourself: 'when am I going to get in the team and how many games am I going to get?'
"So, I understand Nathan's dilemma.
"The Everton that I played for is different from the one that it is there now.
"But it's a fantastic club. It's very much fan driven. The supporters are the heartbeat of the club, just as they are at Rangers. Nathan is joining a similar club in that respect.
"They love that kind of player at Everton. Seamus Coleman has been a massive success - one of the best buys ever for Everton at £50,000 from Irish football.
"And even in my day, a full-back like Gary Stevens who went to Rangers and was a huge success, was that kind of swashbuckling full back.
"Like Nathan, he had plenty of pace and plenty dynamism down that side.
"Everton fans will take to him, without question."
The former Scotland striker has no doubt that it was a no-brainer for Rangers to accept the Goodison side's offer of £11m plus significant add-ons.
He added: "Nathan had to think that at 20 years old, did he want to stay at Rangers for another two or three seasons, learning his trade and playing occasionally or go to the Premier League and get in the Everton team?
"He'll be up against Coleman for the right back shirt and I don't think Seamus is ready for retirement yet, from what I can gather, but he is into his 30s and won't be around forever.
"But Everton have bought Nathan for big money and they are not going to leave him out. They are going to play him.
"I could have seen advantages in him staying at Rangers and learning and watching James Tavernier play as well as playing himself in the next year or two and grow.
"But I also understand the temptation to move away - and I did it at 19 when I left Dundee United for Aston Villa and it was the best thing I ever did.
"You are immediately playing in a higher level of football every week. There's nothing easy in the Premier League, especially when you're Everton at the moment, so every game is going to be a tough test for him. He's going to have been at it in every game.
"I'm sure in Scotland there are certain games when you might be able to coast a wee bit, but in England you can't.
"I can see why he'd want to go, although I'd have loved him to stay.
"But I can see why Rangers would want to take the money. A fee of more than £10m doesn't come along every day for Rangers, and there will be add-ons. It's a good sum for Giovanni to get at least some of it. I absolutely get that.
"Rangers, with Tavernier already there - a quality full-back in situ for the next five or so years - then why wouldn't you cash in on a bright young talent?"
Gray believes the manner in which Patterson has fitted seamlessly into the Scotland set-up proves he is ready for anything England has to offer.
"Absolutely, he can make an impact," he insists. "I like him a lot.
"He's gone into the international set-up and slid into that team quite comfortably and quite confidently, which I like.
"He doesn't look out of place. He's not walking about the football pitch playing for Scotland and thinking: 'I don't know if I should be here'.
"He's got a really good attitude and I think he will be a massive success and a great signing for Everton, I really do.
"But he's going to have to defend a lot more, for a start!
"Playing for Rangers in Scotland, the art of defending is important but it's not paramount.
"At the moment, Everton don't know how to defend as a team. They are still working on that and Nathan is going to find that he'll have to work really hard at his defensive game.
"There have been a lot of good full backs down the years. I think of Ashley Cole and Nathan would love to be that kind of attacking full back, but when Ashley first started he was brilliant going forward but susceptible defensively. Nathan might be a bit like that at the moment.
"But if he's keen to learn, which I think he will be, then there's absolutely no doubt in mind that he can elevate himself to the same sort of levels that we've seen Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson playing at."
