Everton confirmed on Tuesday that Joao Virginia has signed a new deal until 2024. Maarten Stekelenburg and Jonas Lossl were backup to Jordan Pickford last season, but Virginia is our second-choice goalkeeper now and will be given first-team opportunities under Carlo Ancelotti. Is it the right call, however?
Virginia crumbled under the weight of expectation
Virginia’s development required competitive football, so we loaned him out to Reading last season. The 20-year-old struggled with the Royals, however, and ended up being sent back to Everton early after losing his place in the side due to poor form.
He made only three appearances in all competitions for Reading, conceding six goals while failing to keep a clean sheet. Virginia’s inconsistency saw him relegated to bench duty for the majority of his stint at the Madejski. Ultimately, he was guilty of making errors leading to goals and looked low on confidence.
Everton worked hard on building him back up in the u23s, and his promotion to our first-team suggests he’s turned things around this season. Virginia was on the bench in our 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur (September 13), started in our EFL Cup win over Salford City (September 16), and was on the bench in our 5-2 win over West Bromwich Albion (September 19), so he may have overcome his confidence issues.
Is our best goalkeeper out in the cold?
It’s good that a young player is given opportunities to boost their development, but Jonas Lossl may feel hard done by this season. The 31-year-old impressed on loan at Huddersfield Town in 2020 and wanted to challenge Pickford for a starting place, but he’s since fallen down the pecking order and now finds himself on the periphery.
The fact we’ve been linked with Manchester United’s Sergio Romero this summer suggests we aren’t considering internal solutions if Pickford is dropped, so Lossl may have to leave to get first-team football. It appears Virginia could be given minutes in domestic cups and potentially in the Premier League, so the future is bright.
In other news, Luke Garbutt has found himself a new club after ending an 11-year stay at Everton