View: Everton could regret winter window Lossl exit
Jordan Pickford became the latest addition to the injury list at Everton on Saturday after he provoked a previous rib injury against Burnley.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson struck the post from range in the first half at Goodison Park and Pickford’s dive to save that shot saw him land awkwardly on his side.
The England international attempted to shrug off the injury but he was forced off shortly before half-time, giving way for Joao Virginia to make his Premier League debut.
Pickford now joins Robin Olsen, also out injured, on the sidelines ahead of Everton’s FA Cup clash against Manchester City next weekend.
Olsen had returned to training prior to Everton’s game against Burnley, but Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed whether he’ll be fit to face the Cityzens, with some reports [90min] claiming that he could be back available after the international break.
That leaves Joao Virginia to face City at Goodison Park next week, and that could see the Blues regret allowing Jonas Lossl to leave last month.
Lossl first signed for Everton as a free agent after leaving Huddersfield following their relegation from the Premier League in 2019.
However, he was allowed to leave for Midtjylland on a permanent deal on the recent transfer deadline day, having never made a competitive appearance for the club.
Denmark international Lossl did possess plenty of Premier League experience, having played 69 times in the league for Huddersfield across two seasons, but he wasn’t given a chance to impress.
Now though the club could wish they’d kept him around to feature instead of Joao Virginia, whose very limited first-team experience is spotty at best.
Virginia, 21, made his debut for Everton this season in the Carabao Cup, playing the duration and keeping a clean sheet against Salford City.
Aside from that though, Virginia’s only other taste of first-team football came during a loan spell at Reading, which proved particularly torrid following a string of costly goalkeeping errors.
Should neither Pickford nor Olsen be ruled fit to face City, Everton could regret having let Lossl go because although a positive result doesn’t seem likely given the form of Pep Guardiola’s side, Virginia may find himself in a full debut baptism of fire.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti remains confident that JP Gbamin could yet feature for Everton this season.