Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia has the potential to become “one of the best of his generation” at Goodison Park, the club’s former goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira has told the Liverpool Echo.
Oliveira played a key role in Virginia’s decision to swap Arsenal for Everton in 2018 and, after three years of waiting, the fresh-faced shot-stopper may be about to make his first-team breakthrough at last.
The 21-year-old featured in the Premier League for the first time on Saturday, rising from the bench after Jordan Pickford ambled off with an abdominal problem that could keep him out for a number of weeks.
And, despite marking his top-flight debut with a 2-1 home defeat to Burnley, Virginia did enough to suggest Robin Olsen won’t automatically step into a Pickford-shaped void following the March international break.
“He has the passion and potential to be one of the best of his generation,” Oliveira explains.
“It’s about being consistent game after game after game. That’s the step he needs to make.
“He is very mature for his age and his qualities are what you need in the modern game. He is able to play with his feet and he has the ability to play with his right and left the same. He has got balance and he has a good understanding of the game too.
“He is intelligent, which is really important, and in high-pressure situations he feels comfortable. That was what happened on Saturday and he helped keep the team in the game.
“He is a really focused young man and a really hard worker. In every training session, and even with the U23s, all the experience I had with him showed me that when the moment came, he would be prepared.”
Virginia certainly appears to be on the right track again, bouncing back after a miserable loan spell at Reading was cut short after two error-strewn appearances.
However, Oliveira believes the one-time Benfica prospect may benefit from another spell away from Merseyside.
“It is not important where he plays, but that he plays. Abroad could also be important for him,” Oliveira adds.
“He needs to make mistakes. He still needs to learn and goalkeepers make errors, it is just those errors sometimes lead to conceding goals. But to fight for the position at Everton, he needs to have that experience.”
Whether Arsenal will regret selling Virginia to Everton remains to be seen. But there are plenty of former Gunners prospects, from Serge Gnabry to Ismael Bennacer and from Yunus Musah to Eberechi Eze, who the goalkeeper can look to for inspiration.
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