There weren’t many positives to highlight from our FA Cup exit at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, but Ki-Jana Hoever stood out.
The Dutch 16-year-old became our third youngest debutant as he replaced Dejan Lovren after a few minutes in the first half.
The Croatian defender picked up a hamstring injury, and Hoever was called upon by Jurgen Klopp. The German provided instructions to the youngster, and he did a pretty decent job against a strong Wolves side.
The 16-year-old would have expected to play a few minutes given that we started with other youngsters Rafa Camacho and Curtis Jones. The trio did a decent enough job but they all need to develop more in the coming years.
Hoever had one great moment late in the game as he slalomed past several Wolves players before starting an attack, but we just could not get a second goal to avoid defeat.
The loss does hurt given that the FA Cup was a great chance of picking up silverware, but the Premier League and Champions League have to be our priorities.
Hoever seems to be a great talent for the future, and could be the next big thing at Anfield. Many Liverpool fans were impressed by the 16-year-old and shared their views on Twitter.
Ki Jana Hoever playing RB, CB and Midfielder seamlessly. All in one play pic.twitter.com/RlkyfC3niN
— LFC Scout Watch (@Mobyhaque1) January 8, 2019
16… wow. Impressive run right there.
— Hoosier Red Fan (@tripletreefarm) January 8, 2019
He’s literally a young Virgil
— ~ (@ArmBabayan) January 8, 2019
Jones and Camacho were too obsessed with those fancy tricks. Hoever was clearly better.
— GusandSaM (@GusandSaM) January 7, 2019
Safe to say we are very proud of Ki Jana Hoever. Been telling you guys for a while he is a big talent for us. Just turning 17 too. Huge ceiling
— LFC Scout Watch (@Mobyhaque1) January 7, 2019
Ki-Jana Hoever vs Wolves
87% passing
66/76 passes
2/2 dribbles – most for Liverpool
1/2 aerial duels
2/2 tackles – joint most for Liverpool
2 clearances
1 interception
Dribbled past 0 timesKid has a bright future 🔥
📸 @LiverpoolBible pic.twitter.com/q0D9tozFFZ
— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) January 7, 2019
Not ready yet, flashes but still too soon for him
— Magic Man (@LukeCozzie) January 8, 2019
I enjoyed watching him tonight.
— Holly ⚽❤ Oi! (@MizHollyD) January 7, 2019
Ki-Jana Hoever pic.twitter.com/NDkL1N4FTd
— Callum Edwards (@DoddyLFC_1993) January 7, 2019
Ki-Jana Hoever was the stand out tonight…🙌🏻🔴
— 🔴🖐🏻 (@Anna_LFC) January 7, 2019
What a night for Hoever, defeat or not – to make your first team debut at 16 is something very special. He’ll go back to the academy full of energy for the future. #LFC pic.twitter.com/L8NkATZzm5
— Chris Williams (@Chris78Williams) January 7, 2019
Read more: Liverpool keep close eye on “unhappy” Colombian star at Bayern Munich
