It seems that Everton goalkeeper coach Hugo Oliveira made a little trip to Wales on Tuesday.
As reported by newspaper A Bola, Oliveira was in the stands to watch Portugal’s match against the Dragons for the U-21 Euro Qualifiers.
The outlet claims that his intention was to watch João Virgína, the 18-year-old goalkeeper signed by the Toffees a couple of months ago.
But Virgína didn’t feature in the game, as Manchester United goalie Joel Pereira was the one who played for 90 minutes. There was almost no chance of an appearance, given it was a competitive game and Pereira is by far and away the first choice.
We’re pretty sure that Oliveira had that information before the match, so he probably had more interest in the clash than just waiting for Virgínia to come in.
Signed from Arsenal this summer, João Virgínia is understandably still to have a chance to play for Everton’s first team squad. He’s made two appearances in Premier League 2, and kept two clean sheets.
The goalkeeper has played for all of Portugal’s youth levels since the U-16. He’s won European titles with the U-17 and U-19 squads.
If Oliveira was there looking for other talents Everton could snap up, he’ll have certainly been impressed by Joao Felix, but Benfica have him on a contract with a €60m clause and are trying to get that higher.
Andre Horta also had a very good game, scoring a wonderful opening goal. The 21 year old moved to Los Angeles FC in the summer, in a surprising transfer.
