Ki-Jana Hoever proud after waiting for his Wolves chance
Wolves’ Ki-Jana Hoever is proud to have done well on his first Premier League start – although ending 2020 in defeat ‘hurts really bad’.
The 18-year-old Dutchman, having been signed from Liverpool in the summer, played the whole 90 minutes as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side cruelly lost late on at Manchester United.
He caught the eye with an assured all-round display at right-wing-back before Marcus Rashford’s strike deflected in off Romain Saiss to seal a 1-0 win for the hosts.
And on his full top-flight debut, Hoever said: “I was hoping for this moment to come.
“Of course, I’ve been in the squad for almost all the games this season, so I was hoping to play any time soon, and I’m happy that it happened.
“But I’m just not happy with the result at the end.
“It would have been better if we’d have kept a clean sheet.
“It hurts really bad. In the beginning of the match we played some good football, some good counter-attacks.
“I think at the end of the half, they were having the ball a bit more and we were compact as a team and we defended well.
“In the second-half, it was a bit more of the same, we started well and then at the end, they had more of the possession and we couldn’t really hold the ball, and then it’s painful that they score in the last minute.”
Hoever arrived from Anfield in a deal worth up to £13.5million on a five-year contract – while Diogo Jota went the other way, joining the Reds in a deal worth up to £45m.
Wolves paid an initial £9m for the teenager, who has also played as a centre-back in the past.
Hoever added: “At the end I feel disappointment that we didn’t get one point, so I’m not really happy at the moment, but I’m proud that I started.”
