Everton goalkeeper João Virgínia has opened the door to a departure from Goodison Park in the summer, after seeing it blocked by the Blues last year.
The goalkeeper has been speaking to SAPO in Portugal about his situation at this moment in time and whether a transfer could be on the cards in the coming months.
The Portuguese stopper has spent this season as Jordan Pickford’s replacement for Everton, featuring in the cup competitions when the England number one has been rested.
He’s earned positive reviews when he’s been given his chance too, with solid performances in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, despite Everton’s relatively short involvement in both competitions.
It’s certainly been a better season for him than last year, which he spent on loan at Sporting Club de Portugal back in his homeland.
The hope had been that he would go there and impress enough to secure a permanent move but instead found himself unable to do either over the course of the campaign and so was back at Everton this season.
“I have been on loan in recent years, to have more minutes, more game experience and to be more prepared so that, if Everton eventually needs me, I will be ready and respond in the right way,” he said.
“This year they decided they wanted me to stay at the club. Staying, I already knew that, having England’s number 1 goalkeeper in the squad, I would be playing in the cups and waiting for something to happen, but the season is going well, in a way it is going as planned.
“I feel like I’m getting better every year, a better goalkeeper. I have been through different contexts, different leagues, different countries.
“I’ve already played in four different leagues, so I’m improving and, from now on, my goal is to play more and more and become a starting goalkeeper at a big club.
“For now, it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing what happens until the end of the season, I’m always prepared to go in and do my best for Everton.”
When asked about a return to Portugal, the player made it clear he’d be up for it.
“The national team is always my main objective and one of my biggest dreams, it will always be a light and I want to work to get there. About Portugal… it’s my home.
“The time I spent there passed in an instant. Being with family, friends… I felt at home. It’s difficult to explain the feeling I have for Portugal, I miss it enormously. Of course (he would return), it wasn’t out of the question.”
