Liverpool begin their FA Cup defence against Wolves this weekend, setting up a reunion with one of their former prospects.
Jurgen Klopp’s men overcame Chelsea in the final at Wembley last season to win the famous competition for the first time since 2006. Ahead of their first match in the competition this time round, a few familiar faces will be keeping a close eye on the result.
Diogo Jota, who is injured, will be backing the Reds against his former side, whilst Ki-Jana Hoever will wish his employers, Wolves, are the side to progress. The young Dutchman, 20, is out on loan at PSV Eindhoven, with the Reds taking a keen interest in how he is getting on as they keep their fingers crossed for a huge windfall.
The deal that took him from Anfield to Molineux in 2020 saw Liverpool receive £13.5million, whilst they also still retain an option in his contract that would see them receive 15 per cent of any money Wolves make should they sell him in the future. During his time at Liverpool, Klopp was a huge fan of the youngster and tipped him for great things.
Speaking ahead of Hoever’s debut - ironically in an FA Cup clash with Wolves - the German said: “He [Hoever] is one for the future, of course, but what we will do with him now, I don't know. He is 16, turns 17 in a few days. If Joel [Matip] and Joe [Gomez] would have been fit all of the time, then probably Ki-Jana wouldn't have been in training with the first team, but he was in and is still in.
“It is just a joy to watch him. He is an incredible, confident young fella and is really a good player on top of that. It's nice we can see him day in, day out. It's really cool."
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Despite catching the eye in that aforementioned tie, Hoever was quickly on the move, going on to criticise the speed in which he was allowed to progress at Anfield. “I didn’t expect anything like that when I just signed with the club, by any means,” the youngster said after joining Wolves.
“That I would make my debut within six months, while before that, I played my matches in the under-17s at Ajax. That all happened very quickly. That is also difficult because, after that, it doesn’t go so fast.”
The former Ajax starlet then claimed the decision to bid farewell to Anfield was the “best thing for his career”. He said: “It wasn’t an easy choice, but it wasn’t that hard either.
“I knew my playing time would be more than at Liverpool, that’s why I made the decision. I thought it was the best thing for my career in the moment.
“Now, of course, with the injuries [at Liverpool], you don’t know, but I don’t think like that. I just thought like, if everyone was fit, how much game time would I have? Liverpool have such a great team still, maybe the best back four in the world, so it was really hard for me to break through there.”
Despite that assessment, things haven’t exactly gone brilliantly for Hoever since joining Wolves. He was only afforded 25 outings for the Midlands club over two seasons, with former boss Bruno Lage critical of his preparation for matches.
In an effort to gain more first-team football, the young defender elected to move back to his home country and joined PSV on a season-long loan. He has made just eight appearances for the Eredivisie side since, in what looks to be the latest chapter of what is turning into a frustrating career.
Luckily enough for Hoever, he is still only 20 and has plenty of time left to get back on track - and with it secure the Reds what could be a useful cash windfall. Before that, though, he will likely be keeping one eye on this weekend’s clash between Liverpool and Wolves in the FA Cup.
