Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia lifts lid on ‘brutal’ debut
Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia has lifted the lid on his “brutal” debut for the club last season.
The Portuguese youth international made three appearances for the Blues’ first team before going on loan to Sporting CP for this campaign.
Virginia was disappointed he didn’t get the chance to play in front of the fans in what he believes is the best league in the world, the Premier League.
“I came to play in the Premier League,” Virginia told Mais Futebol.
“I came in after Pickford got injured. It was brutal, but it was only a shame because there were no fans in the stadiums.
“I came on in the 40th minute against Burnley and I didn’t concede a goal. It’s the best league in the world, there’s a lot of intensity and the game doesn’t stop.
“The referee blows for a foul and there are no arguments.”
One for the future
There definitely are arguments between the referees and players in England but they are certainly not as bad as what the goalkeeper is used to with his Portuguese roots.
The 22-year-old showed his huge potential in the three games of first team football he played at the club. Much like all young players, especially goalkeepers, he needs time to gain experience and grow as a player.
Returning to Portugal will certainly help him with that but Virginia might have hoped for a little bit more playing time on loan having only played seven games on loan with Sporting.
He has been able to earn some experience in the Champions League though and is likely to play more games by the end of the season.
Being involved within the first team set up is experience within itself despite not playing and certainly beats playing with Everton’s under 23’s.
Hopefully Virginia’s loan journey equips him with all the tools he needs to become an Everton great one day.
In other Everton news, Abdoulaye Doucoure is back in full training at Finch Farm.