It is ‘surprising’ that goalkeeper João Virginia has not broken through at Everton, with his performances in the Netherlands showing his true potential.
That’s according to journalist Arie Haan, who has praised the goalkeeper today and named him in his Team of the Week in the Netherlands.
Virginia is currently on loan at Dutch side SC Cambuur, who he joined in the summer after returning to Everton from an unsuccessful loan spell at Sporting Club de Portugal.
He’s been a regular for the Dutch side this season, starting all of their league games so far and keeping three clean sheets in nine games.
His latest clean sheet came at the weekend in the 0-0 draw with Go Ahead Eagles and followed his second of the season in the 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven at the beginning of this month.
The latter result, while not as impressive, has earned him praise, with journalist Haan singling the Everton loanee out for his display in De Telegraaf.
“He has already been at big clubs (Arsenal and Everton, ed.), was a Portuguese youth international and when you see him like this at Cambuur, it surprises me that he has not yet broken through elsewhere,” he wrote in his column picking the Eredivisie Team of the Week.
Whether Virginia can continue to impress remains to be seen, but it appears the loan spell in the Netherlands is going as he and Everton would have wanted.
Last season was a hugely disappointing one for the 23-year-old but with his contract at Goodison Park set to expire in 2024, perhaps this is his chance to impress and secure a move to be number one somewhere on a long-term basis.
