Ki-Jana Hoever made his debut against Wolves on Monday night, and by all accounts, played with distinction.
The 16-year-old came on for Dejan Lovren in the seventh minute and partnered Fabinho at centre-back, making some tidy tackles, interceptions and one fantastic run.
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Here’s what Reds are saying about 16-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever after Wolves display
His performance has got all Liverpool fans talking, and the young Dutchman is now rated alongside Rhian Brewster as perhaps the Academy starlet with the most potential and highest potential ceiling.
“I think that he’s an outstanding talent,” Academy director Alex Inglethorpe began telling the official website.
“The thing that surprises me about him is not just how good a footballer he is, but what a good person he is. He’s highly competitive, he doesn’t like losing.
“He has potential, he has serious potential, and his rate of progression I suppose after pre-season hasn’t surprised me because he’s someone that it was very, very clear from very, very early on had an awful lot of the pieces that you would need to become a top player.
“A lot of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are in the box and I guess we just have to put them together. He’s a very exciting prospect.”
Hoever played at centre-back in the FA Cup, but we think his characteristics make him a more likely right-back in the future.
He’s quick, can dribble and likes to get up the pitch and link up with the midfielders.
Due to his athleticism and height, he reminds us of Joe Gomez when the Englishman first broke into the side back in 2015.
Hoever is unlikely to feature again this term, but that’s ok. He can progress and develop with the U23s before playing a big role in first-team pre-season, hopefully playing in multiple friendlies, as Curtis Jones did last summer.