‘A real leader’… Ki-Jana Hoever shares which player he was left ‘amazed’ by at Liverpool

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Former Liverpool youngster Ki-Jana Hoever has been looking back on his time at Anfield.

Hoever was once a big prospect at Liverpool. Arriving from Ajax in 2018, the Dutchman made his debut by 16 and scored his first goal by 17.

Now 21 though, Hoever is currently on-loan at Stoke City in the Championship. Having been sold to Wolves in 2020, things haven’t quite gone smoothly for the defender ever since.

Nevertheless, Hoever clearly still remembers his time at Anfield fondly. Speaking in an interview with Dutch outlet AD, the youngster rang the praises of former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson in particular.

“He [Henderson] immediately explained the basics to me,” Hoever says. “How things worked at Melwood training ground and what playing for Liverpool entails. Make sure you arrange your things on time, so that you arrive at the club well in time and go to the gym outside of field training. We young boys were especially not allowed to be lazy.”

Hoever back Henderson Ajax links

As Henderson looks for a way out of Saudi Arabia, he has been linked with a surprise move to the Eredivisie and Ajax. And speaking on that, Hoever said his old club would be getting ‘a real leader’ in the 33-year-old.

“If it works, Ajax will get a real leader,” he said. “In everything, on and off the field. A good midfielder, whose temperament and willpower really came to the fore when things went badly.

“During such a speech he could go on a rant and really put teammates in their place, but in a good way. I stood sometimes amazed at how he was always a role model and leader, who did the best for the group.

“He never relented, nor did he accept it from others if they did not keep agreements. He also often knew how to do things better. Sometimes he came up with tactical instructions, sometimes he emphasised the experience.”

It isn’t a surprise to hear Henderson described in such glowing terms. His leadership was always seen as perhaps his main attribute. It’s arguably what kept him at Liverpool beyond his peak.

But nevertheless, its’ still good to hear of it action. Henderson may have been surrounded by stars in the Reds dressing room, but he was never afraid to take any of them to task.

If Hoever learned a lot from that, then so too will have Virgil van Dijk. The centre-back is obviously far more experienced than his young countryman.

But the experience of watching Hendo in action for so many years will surely have rubbed off on Van Dijk as he embarks on his own journey as Liverpool captain.

There are some who will openly declare their satisfaction at having seen Henderson leave Anfield last summer. But Hoever’s testimony provides a nice counter-balance to that. Liverpool miss Hendo, one way or another and whoever gets him will be getting themselves a coup.