Spotlight on Ki-Jana Hoever as Sheffield United edge closer to latest summer transfer deal

Ki-Jana Hoever, the Wolverhampton Wanderers defender who is closing in on a move to Sheffield United this summer, admits he is a more mature player and person than the green 16-year-old who was plucked from the Ajax academy and brought to England six years ago. The Netherlands U21 international is a product of the Liverpool finishing school after a spell at the Dutch giants earlier in his career.

Wolves paid an initial fee of around £10m for the then-18-year-old right back in 2020 but he has only played 25 times in all competitions for the Black Country side, and has since had loan spells at PSV and Stoke City twice. Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs described Hoever as “one of the most dangerous full-backs in the Championship at one point” and should the deal get over the line, it will fill a problem position for United after the sale of first-choice right-back Jayden Bogle to Leeds and the injury to his would-be replacement, Jamie Shackleton.

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Hoever, 22, played 44 times for Stoke last season before returning to Wolves in the summer and joining their pre-season tour to the USA. Speaking in a Sky Sports interview last season, Hoever admitted he was keeping “an open mind” about his future, with two years left on his deal at Molineux.

"I'll go back to Wolves with an open mind and try and impress, but I really have no idea from there," he said. "I would love to have a crack at the Premier League and I feel like I'm ready for it, but it obviously depends on a lot of things. I never thought I didn't have the quality for the Premier League, it was just about different stuff with me."

"In football things can move really quickly," he says. "It's about the way you develop and believing in yourself. I feel like I definitely could go on and play at Champions League level in my career. I just need to make sure I work hard for it every day."

If Hoever does arrive in South Yorkshire ahead of United’s season opener against Preston North End on August 9, they will be gaining a more mature player and person. "I was so young moving to England and things happened so quickly," Hoever added. "You go from being 16 to being involved in first-team football, when you're still a child.

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"And to be honest around that time I didn't really have anybody around me who taught me these things. When you're young you don't always realise what kind of world you're in. And I'm not talking about on-pitch stuff. I made a couple of mistakes and did some, I guess, childish things. But I feel like I needed that as a person, to go through it and learn from it. Everyone is different in that way."

An attacking right-back, Hoever scored four goals last season for Stoke - with only André Vidigal netting more in the entire Stoke squad - and added five assists for good measure. "I think one of the most important things for me, especially since I've been at Stoke, is just getting a little bit older, realising where I'm at and what I want to achieve in my career,” he added.

"I feel like being here at Stoke has helped me develop as a player and as a person, both on and off the pitch. I've always heard I have a lot of potential, but it's up to me to take it into my hands and make it happen."