Flying Dutchman Ki-Jana Hoever on verge of Liverpool breakthrough

The race is on to sign the next young talent from the Netherlands, with the emergence of exciting Dutch and Ajax sides in the past year bringing memories of great teams of the 1970s and 1990s.

Virgil van Dijk’s development into an ice-cool superstar for Liverpool has also played a role, and fans of the European champions will no doubt be banking on recent signing Sepp van den Berg also becoming a club legend. Having seen him for PEC Zwolle, I can confirm that the tall, mobile and aggressive under-19 international certainly is promising. But let’s give the kid a chance to get settled in, eh?

Another Dutch 17-year-old – and one who has already seen first-team action for Jürgen Klopp’s side – is Ki-Jana Hoever. He caught the eye when he unexpectedly made his debut for the Reds in January 2019, playing alongside Fabinho in a patched-up defence during an FA Cup defeat at Wolves.

In May the teenager was part of a free-flowing Netherlands team that romped to European under-17 Championship glory in Ireland, and he was unsurprisingly named on the team of the tournament. For this untrained scout at least, Hoever was one of the real stars of the competition along with 16-year-old Ajax defender Devyne Rensch, classy French midfielder Enzo Millot, PSG’s record-breaking goalscorer Adil Aouchiche, and Italian free-kick specialist Sebastiano Esposito.

Perhaps the best moment for Hoever was a highlights-reel goal against Belgium in the quarter-finals, which he finished like an old-school Brazilian – flashing the ball into the net at dazzling speed. The first of his two touches for that strike – when he simultaneously took the ball in his stride and eliminated the last defender – drew an audible gasp from the 2,651 onlookers in Bray.

“Yeah, it was unbelievable,” Netherlands head coach Peter van der Veen told us afterwards, when discussing Hoever’s goal. “He is one of the prospects of Holland also of course.  He is physically well, technically he’s really good. I think one-v-one defence – frontal – can be improved.

“But when you see how he can still improve, I think he’s not there yet. I think he has great potential. He has everything of a modern right-back or central defender. “

The one small downside of Hoever’s involvement at the European Championships was that he missed out on a particularly memorable night at Anfield. The same day that his Dutch side hammered reigning world champions England 5-2 in the group stage, he sat down with his international teammates to marvel at Liverpool’s incredible 4-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

“I did believe,” Hoever told me in Dublin, after watching the second-leg drama unfold from the Netherlands’ team hotel.

“You know it’s on Anfield. You know on Anfield, they are really strong. They showed again that Anfield is amazing, and special things can happen over there.”

Hoever, who only turned 17 in mid-January, impressed at right-back at the Euros, producing lung-busting recovery runs reminiscent of Andy Robertson as well as raking crossfield passes that would remind you of Trent-Alexander Arnold.

Before leaving for Ireland, the Amsterdam native had also been making steady progress at club level. Having joined Liverpool from Ajax in September 2018, he started out with the Reds’ under-18 team before featuring in the UEFA Youth League and making seven appearances for the under-23 side.

“It’s just a nice season,” he said in May. “Everything went real quick with me. I started in the 18 team and ended up a little between the first team and the 23s.

“It’s good to see the boys doing good. The last game was amazing of course against Barcelona. So I’m just happy for them, and it’s nice to be part of it a little bit.”

Hoever has two perfect role models to look up to in the shape of compatriots van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum, something which makes life more comfortable when he does mix with the bigger names during training at Melwood.

“Yeah, they help me out,” said Hoever, who seemed as relaxed off the pitch as he is on it. “If I play next to Virgil, he’s talking Dutch to me so it’s easier for me then to understand it. I also talk with Gini and they’re just two nice people. We make jokes with each other, so it’s nice.”

An early injury to Dejan Lovren paved the way for Hoever’s dramatic first-team debut at centre-back, with his apparent coolness under pressure a trait he shares with PFA Player of the Year van Dijk.

In a Netherlands under-17 squad filled with “a lot of special players”, he looked at ease on the right side, and – in the best Ajax and Dutch tradition – he seems set to be as flexible as required.

“I can play both,” Hoever said, when asked about whether he sees himself as a full-back or a central defender. “I don’t want to make a statement [about] where I want to play. I just can play both. Where the coach needs me, I can play.”

Circumstances may have been different, but Klopp showed when winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund that when players were good enough – think Mario Götze – they were certainly old enough. Hoever has got tongues wagging amongst Liverpool supporters again in pre-season, so don’t be surprised to see him granted more first-team opportunities in 2019/20.