There has been a lot of discussion over pre-season about the future of Ki-Jana Hoever at Wolves.
The right-back hasn’t made a senior competitive appearance for the Old Gold since 2022, with his future presumed to be away from Molineux.
After back-to-back loans at Stoke City, Hoever was given the chance to test his quality in the French top flight, signing for Auxerre.
Upon returning to Wolves in the summer, it’s become clear that Vitor Pereira might be able to make use of the 23-year-old, particularly after a key exit.
Ki-Jana Hoever urged to improve his crossing
Wolves need to replace Nelson Semedo after the former captain signed for Fenerbahce as a free agent.
Whether Hoever can replace Semedo is yet to be seen, with mixed reviews coming from his pre-season performances.
Against Girona, Hoever had positive spells, but one thing was a glaring issue, as journalist Liam Keen elaborated on when speaking on the E&S Wolves Podcast.
“We’ve been pretty strong on Hoever from both angles, in that he’s been good in training and in pre-season games for the majority, but against Girona, I agree with you, his crosses were terrible, really.”
The Wolves expert noticed that despite the right-back finding himself in encouraging positions, his final ball was far from good enough.
“He got into some fantastic positions, and then time and time again, he relinquished possession or hit the first man, or overhit it.”
Wolves fans weren’t impressed with Hoever’s performance against Girona, making the complaint that the former Liverpool starlet is way below the standard of Semedo.
Keen agreed that the defender has to improve his crossing ability significantly, but urged supporters not to look away from the positive things Hoever has produced in pre-season.
“He has to do a hell of a lot better than that. I don’t think it’s fair to then take away from the positives that we have seen from his performances as well.”
How Hoever’s crossing compares to Nelson Semedo
Wolves aren’t in a rush to move Hoever on this summer, but it’s expected that a right-wing-back will come in to compete with the Dutchman.
Last season, Semedo had such a big impact on Wolves in attack, with the gap between the Portugal international and Hoever quite worrying going into the new campaign.
| Player | League | Successful crosses per game | % of successful crosses per game |
| Nelson Semedo | Premier League | 0.5 | 25% |
| Ki-Jana Hoever | Ligue 1 | 0.6 | 22% |
That being said, when it comes to crossing, there wasn’t a lot between the two players last season in their respective leagues, making it clear that it’s an area Wolves need to improve in general.
With no Matheus Cunha magic through the middle, better service will be expected to keep Jorgen Strand Larsen ticking, putting pressure on Wolves’ full-backs to improve the rate and quality of their delivery.
At present, it could be Hoever who starts on the right side of defence against Manchester City on the opening day, which would see him come up against Rayan Ait-Nouri.