 Hoever lining up forLiverpool in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ki-Jana Delano Hoever[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-01-18)18 January 2002 (age 23)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,right-back[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | AZ | ||
| 2014–2018 | Ajax | ||
| 2018–2019 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Liverpool | 2 | (0) |
| 2020– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 25 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | →PSV (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | →Jong PSV (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | →Stoke City (loan) | 55 | (8) |
| 2024–2025 | →Auxerre (loan) | 30 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | Netherlands U15 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Netherlands U17 | 12 | (4) |
| 2019–2021 | Netherlands U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Netherlands U21 | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 May 2025 | |||
Ki-Jana Delano Hoever (born 18 January 2002) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as adefender forPremier League clubWolverhampton Wanderers.[4]
Hoever was born inAmsterdam, Netherlands and is ofSurinamese descent.[5] His father, a formerAmerican football player, named him after formerNFLrunning backKi-Jana Carter.[6]
Hoever started out in the youth ranks atAjax in 2010. Hoever played 13 times and scored two goals in the Under-17 Eredivisie during the 2017–18 season.[7] Described as equally comfortable playing at centre-half and right-back, Hoever completed his move to Liverpool in August 2018 fromAjax but had to wait until September 2018 for international clearance.[8] As he had not signed a professional contract, Liverpool only had to pay a minimal compensation and Ajax were reported to be bitterly disappointed to lose the player.[9]Manchester City,Manchester United andChelsea were also reportedly interested in making the signing.[10] Hoever made his firstLiverpool appearance in a 4–1 win for the under-18s against Newcastle on 15 September. Following that he was given a substitute appearance in the Reds'UEFA Youth League match at home toParis Saint-Germain that ended in a 5–2 win on 18 September 2018. He later played the full 90 minutes at centre-half in the 5–0 win overNapoli that sealed Liverpool's U18s place in the knockout stages of that tournament.
By November 2018, Hoever had his U23s debut as a wide right midfielder against league leadersEverton atGoodison Park, which Liverpool won. His performance earned praise from U23 managerNeil Critchley, who said, "I thought his calmness and assurance, his decision-making, his intelligence without the ball, it was terrific. I was very impressed with him indeed." Hoever made further appearances at right-back for the U23s including receiving plaudits for his performance in a 4–1 win against the reigning Premier League 2 champions Arsenal.[11][12]
In December 2018 Hoever began training with the Liverpool first team, with managerJürgen Klopp describing him as "confident" and "a joy to watch."[13] Hoever was given the squad number 51 ahead of theFA Cup game againstWolverhampton Wanderers atMolineux Stadium on 7 January 2019. He started the match on the bench, but replaced an injuredDejan Lovren at centre-back in the opening minutes. Hoever's appearance made him the youngest ever Liverpool player in the FA Cup and their third youngest in any competition.[14]
He signed a long-term professional contract with the club on 31 July 2019.[15]
His first professional goal came on 25 September 2019 in anEFL Cup match againstMilton Keynes Dons.[16] Upon scoring, at the age of 17 years, eight months and 10 days, Hoever became the fourth-youngest player to find the back of the net for Liverpool, behindBen Woodburn,Michael Owen andJordan Rossiter.[17]
On 19 September 2020, Hoever completed a £9 million transfer toWolverhampton Wanderers.[18] Hoever made his first appearance in the Premier League, and his debut for Wolves, as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 defeat away toWest Ham United on 27 September 2020.[19] He made his debutMolineux appearance for Wolves in the team's next match, a 1–0 victory in the Premier League overFulham on 4 October 2020, also as a second-half substitute.[20]
Hoever made his full Premier League debut away toManchester United on 29 December 2020, a game which Wolves lost narrowly to a deflection in added time.[21]
On 23 June 2022, Hoever joinedPSV on a season-long loan.[22]
On 27 January 2023, Hoever joinedChampionship clubStoke City on loan until the end of the season.[23] On 10 March 2023 he scored his first goals for the club, netting twice in a 3–2 home victory overBlackburn Rovers.[24] Hoever made 17 appearances, scoring four goals from full back, becoming a popular player among the supporters during his short time at the club.[25] Hoever returned to Stoke on loan for the2023–24 season.[26] He scored on the opening day of the season in a 4–1 win againstRotherham United.[27] Stoke were involved in a relegation fight throughout the campaign with Hoever making some mistakes leading to opposition goals.[28] Stoke's and Hoever's form picked up towards the end of the season and they secured their Championship status in the penultimate game againstSouthampton.[29]
On 21 August 2024, Hoever joined newly-promotedLigue 1 clubAuxerre on a season-long loan deal.[30][31]
Born in the Netherlands, Hoever is of Surinamese descent.[5] Hoever is aNetherlands U17 international, scoring three goals in his first five games.[32] He participated in theU17 European Championships in Ireland in 2019, a tournament which the Netherlands won. Hoever started as the Netherlands beatItaly in the final with a scoreline of 4–2, a game which saw Hoever hit the post from a free-kick, which provided the assist for the Dutch's second goal.[33]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2018–19[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019–20[35] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020–21[36] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2020–21[36] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[37] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23[38] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25[40] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26[41] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U21 | 2020–21[36] | — | — | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| PSV Eindhoven (loan) | 2022–23[38] | Eredivisie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Jong PSV (loan) | 2022–23[38] | Eerste Divisie | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2022–23[38] | Championship | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24[39] | Championship | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 4 | |||
| Total | 55 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 61 | 8 | ||||
| Auxerre (loan) | 2024–25[40] | Ligue 1 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 112 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 133 | 10 | ||
Liverpool
PSV
Netherlands U17
Individual
