Sporting Club de Portugal are keen to make Joao Virginia’s loan deal from Everton a permanent one, but not at the price stipulated in his current deal.
That’s according to A Bola, who say the goalkeeper has the backing of the coaching staff, but the club want to reduce the cost of the deal.
Virginia joined the Portuguese side on loan in the summer transfer window as a replacement for Luis Maximiano.
He’s been far from a regular this season, with just seven appearances in all competitions to his name so far and none of them in Liga Portugal.
However, that has not worked against him; in fact, the opposite is true. A Bola say he has ‘pleased’ the coaching staff, particularly Ruben Amorim and goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital.
The player himself has ‘opened the doors’ to staying permanently, although he would want different conditions to those in his current deal.
At the minute, he is ‘satisfied’ by what he has found at Alvaiade but only wants to continue at the club if things are renegotiated in his favour.
Sporting, for their part, are happy to make that happen and have a €3.5m clause in the loan deal they agreed with Everton to make that happen.
However, they don’t want to pay that, and Everton are open to reviewing the conditions of the deal, which could mean an extension to the current loan or a permanent transfer for a figure ‘much lower’ than the one agreed on last summer.
