Ki-Jana Hoever’s phenomenal display for Liverpool in youth derby justifies pursuit

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Liverpool spent much of the summer pursuing 18-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever from Ajax, but now they have finally got the Dutch right-back in their ranks it is clear to see why.

Having settled in quickly, he has already featured in seven fixtures for the Reds, starting four of them and also being deployed in central defence, something he has not done before.

Against Everton, in the young Merseyside Derby, on Thursday night, he produced one of his strongest displays to date with a commanding presence down the right both in attack and defence.

There was one moment which showed his youth and inexperience though as his underhit backpass was pounced upon by Kieran Phillips to draw the score back to 3-3 with 15 minutes remaining but he was not deterred.

Rather than seeing his head drop, the youngster upped his game and pushed forwards looking to help his team find a winner, which they did as substitute Jack Bearne got the finishing touch to drive a late winner for the Reds.

Hoever’s technical ability stood out and his reading of the game was almost second to none. After such a performance, it’s easy to see why the club were so keen to get him on board.