Former Liverpool starlet Ki-Jana Hoever has opened up on his time at Anfield, and why he felt that he needed to leave the club.
Hoever left the Reds last summer to join Wolves in a deal that could rise to £13.5m, despite only featuring four times for the first team.
Liverpool received an initial sum of £9million for the young Dutchman with a further £4.5m in add-ons.
Jurgen Klopp’s side also agreed a 15 per cent sell-on clause for a player they always rated highly in the Academy ranks.
Hoever made his debut as a 16-year-old against Wolves in an FA Cup tie in 2019, becoming the third youngest player for the club.
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Despite featuring for the first-team at such a young age, Hoever admits his chance to perform at the highest level didn’t come around as often as he would have liked.
“I didn’t expect anything like that when I just signed with the club, by any means,” Hoever is quoted telling Voetbal International.
“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.”
Liverpool signed Hoever from Ajax in 2018, and the versatile defender had been earmarked as a long-term option at either right-back or centre-back before his departure.
The 19-year-old has gone on to say why he was so keen to join Liverpool three years ago, and why he feels he made the right decision.
“That went too slowly for me,” However added. “I hadn’t thought about the first one at all; I wanted to go to the Under-19 as soon as possible.
“I was surprised that I was offered a contract from Ajax because I had the feeling for some time that I was not appreciated how I thought I should be appreciated.
“The fact that I made my debut in Liverpool six months later also says that I was at least ready for the Under-19 of Ajax, I think.”
