Ki-Jana Hoever always gets asked the same question.
The Liverpool defender is only 17, still on the starting ramp of his career, but his ability is such that people want to understand him, perhaps even daydream a little about the player he may become. That is only natural; so too is the desire to establish an archetype for his development, to search for familiar footprints in the path ahead.
At Anfield, Hoever’s adopted home, two obvious role models stand out. There is Trent Alexander-Arnold, boy-king of the wing and chief beneficiary of Jurgen Klopp’s faith in youth. There is also Virgil van Dijk, fellow Dutchman and unflappable defensive beacon. To watch Hoever play is to see traces of both.
That Hoever is a major talent is beyond doubt. Klopp has called him “incredible, a joy to watch”, and handed him a first-team debut at 16 in an FA Cup tie at Wolves back in January. He then gave Hoever his first start for the club in September’s Carabao Cup fixture at MK Dons. The defender responded by heading in Liverpool’s second goal in a 2-0 win.
By that stage, he was already a fixture of the Holland side that won the European Under-17 Championship earlier this year. And now he’s shining at the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil.
Yet while his versatility has been a significant factor in his ascent to this point, there is also an urge — perhaps slightly reactionary, but nagging all the same — to nail down his precise role.
And so people ask him: What’s it to be, Kid? Centre-back or right-back?
The problem is that he doesn’t have an answer. Not yet, at any rate.
“I think I can play both positions at the moment, and that’s good,” Hoever tells The Athletic. “We don’t know what my final position is going to be in the future but for now, it’s nice to be able to do both.
“As for which I prefer, it depends a little bit on the type of game we’re playing. If we’re attacking a lot, I like to play on the right but if we’re playing a really good side, who have the ball a lot of the time, centre-back is good for me because I can develop the defensive side of my game.”
In Brazil, he has flip-flopped between the two. In Holland’s opening two matches, Hoever played on the right. He moved into the middle against the USA, helping his team to a much-needed clean sheet and a win that allowed them to sneak into the knockout stages.
In Sunday’s 4-1 success over Paraguay, he was back out on the flank and put in his best performance of the tournament so far. Time and again, Hoever glided into space down the wing, giving his midfielders a passing option. One such run resulted in a volley that flew just wide of the post. His next foray yielded the opening goal: he controlled a sweeping ball from Kenneth Taylor, ducked inside his marker with the insolence of the best wingers, and fired into the roof of the net via a slight deflection.
“It’s nice when you have a right-back who can score as well,” says Hoever, who now has five goals in 17 games for this team. “Of course, the defensive part is the most important thing but I try to help my team by moving forward when I can. It’s one of my strengths. I know I can be a threat in the box.”
His all-round game also caught the eye. Defensively, his awareness and speed allowed him to break up a number of Paraguay attacks. He is strong in the air and assured in possession, always looking to pass forward. Indeed, it was Hoever who started the move that led to his side’s second goal: his pinged ball to the feet of Jayden Braaf sliced through the massed Paraguay defence, allowing Sontje Hansen time and space to finish.
He is also a born organiser on the pitch. A member of the Dutch back-room staff told The Athletic that Hoever has a deep understanding of defensive positioning, and is always “coaching” his colleagues, particularly when he plays in the centre, where he can watch the match unfold in front of him.
Holland forward Mohamed Taabouni echoes that view, pointing at the confidence that his team-mate has gained since Klopp invited him to train with the senior Liverpool players a year ago. The story goes that Hoever was handed the unenviable task of marking Mohamed Salah in his very first session but did a good job and never looked back.
“He’s a great example to follow,” Taabouni says. “He’s in Liverpool’s first team, so he has worked with guys like Virgil van Dijk. He brings some of that leadership to our team. He’s a very important player for us, and a good guy off the pitch as well. We can learn a lot from him.”
That even his peers view him in this light is testament to Hoever’s maturity. It is a trait that also impressed Liverpool’s scouts, who monitored his progress in the Ajax youth set-up for a year before bringing him to Merseyside in the summer of 2018. Because Hoever had yet to sign a professional contract, the fee was around €100,000 — pocket change, essentially.
It was a bitter pill for the Amsterdam club to swallow, not least because Hoever was regarded there as a future first-team star. It is also clear that certain elements of his game are very much in the Ajax mould: he is technical, smart, forward-thinking. Flexible, too.
“We have to pay a big compliment to the Dutch academies for putting players in different spots on the pitch,” Holland under-17s coach Peter van der Veen tells The Athletic. “Of course, when we select the guys, we consider whether they can play somewhere else. We think about that. There are a lot of players who can play in various positions, and Ki-Jana is one.”
Hoever is thankful to Ajax for their role in his story but believes Liverpool have taken him to the next level. He is pleased to have impressed Klopp, but will not be resting on his laurels any time soon.
“I was at Ajax from eight until the age of 16, and they gave me the basics of my game,” he explains. “Then, I went to Liverpool and I think they worked on other things with me, like the mental side. It’s a good mix. I think Klopp likes me. I’m 17 and I’m involved in the first team: that’s quite a lot for my age. I think it’s a good sign but I still need to work hard. I’m always learning new things.”
There are areas for improvement. At right-back, his attacking instincts can be exploited; in the World Cup group games against Japan and Senegal, opposition wingers got in behind him too often for the liking of the Dutch back-room staff. If he is to play at centre-back in senior football, he will also need to fill out. His physical development over the last year is said to have impressed his Liverpool coaches, but he is some way from matching the presence of a Joel Matip, let alone a Van Dijk.
The next step, after this World Cup, will be to start carving out a space for himself at first-team level. That is likely to mean cup run-outs at first — he will have his eye on the FA Cup, having made his debut against Wolves in that competition — but the example of Alexander-Arnold provides hope that he will not have to wait for too long.
“Of course Trent was really young when he got the chance,” Hoever says. “It’s brilliant that I’m at Liverpool because the club has a lot of trust in youngsters. They will give you an opportunity.”
When they do, you would not bet against him seizing it with both hands. The question then will be some formulation of the same question he has already grown accustomed to batting away.
The next Alexander-Arnold, then, or the next Van Dijk?
“I wouldn’t say either of them,” he says with a grin that indicates he is more than happy just being Ki-Jana Hoever.
