Joao Virginia set to undergo Sporting Lisbon medical on Friday despite Everton injury issue
Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia is set to undergo a medical at Sporting Lisbon on Friday ahead of his season-long loan switch, according to the Liverpool Echo.
It is claimed that the 21-year-old will complete the move within the next 24 hours with Sporting obtaining the right to sign him permanently at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The Portuguese shot-stopper flew into Lisbon yesterday [Thursday, 19/08/21].
19-year-old Harry Tyrer was expected to take his place as understudy to Jordan Pickford and Asmir Begovic but he has since suffered an injury, as announced by Rafa Benitez on the official Everton YouTube channel.
However, the Spaniard has seemingly decided not to pull the plug on Virginia’s Goodison Park exit as he has moved swiftly to sign veteran Andy Lonergan, who played for Liverpool between 2019-20.
Last-minute concern?
Perhaps the move was so advanced that it couldn’t breakdown on behalf of the Blues, but an injury to Tyrer might have alerted Benitez to make a last-ditch attempt to keep Virginia at the club.
However, the fact that a permanent clause has been inserted at the end of his loan deal probably points suggests that he is not hugely rated by the Blues boss and thus a short-term deal for 37-year-old Lonergan makes more sense.
As an established reserve goalkeeper now, Lonergan knows his place in the squad and won’t be agitating for game time.
He never even played for Liverpool during his year-long spell at the club, but he provided solid back-up and didn’t rock the boat.
Pickford is firmly established as the Everton number one, while Begovic is entrenched as his deputy after his summer arrival from Bournemouth.
There’s no point making any promises to a third-choice goalkeeper, so Virginia’s exit and the signing of Lonergan seems like a sensible decision.
In other Everton news, the Blues are in talks to sign this title-winning forward, bid lined up for Anfield equaliser hero.
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