As long as there’s some sort of buy-back or sell-on clause, this makes a lot of sense.
Ki-Jana has a ton of promise, and is still only 18, but…
His positions are RB and RCB.
At RB, TAA is one of the best in the world, and this past season Neco has moved ahead of Ki-Jana. Plus there’s the fact that Gomez or even Hendo can fill in there in an emergency.
At CB, he’s behind the obvious Virgil, Joe, and Joel. Plus, based on this pre-season, I suspect that the coaching staff are at least somewhat enamored of Koumetio, as are many fans. Not to mention Sepp and others.
Hoever wants first team football, but isn’t going to get much if any here. Meanwhile, moving him on to Wolves gets Liverpool some cash while also allowing a clearer path for Koumetio to develop.
KJH is still growing. A hybrid between CB and RB at the moment. Not yet strong enough to be a senior CB in a Back4. As RB he was very good for us but Neco is even better.
Wolves play 3 at the back. RCB is perfect for Hoever now. I think he has chosen the perfect Club.
I’m sorry he’s going because he can play. Always been really impressed with him. More so than Neco at RB. But he’s now effectively a 3rd choice RB and not ready to play at CB so there was no realistic prospect of him getting any senior game time this season. If he’s been sacrificed to bring in Jota I can live with that.
Thing is he might have a higher ceiling than Neco but Neco is delivering to a decent level now, you wouldn’t want him in the big games but I was saying that about TAA, that was before that game against Man Utd in which he bloody stole it.
TAA is very young and as a scouser I’d hope if he continues to be one of the best in his position that he is with us for his career. Who knows how these players develop, Neco may one day steal a march but we’ve currently got the best RB and probably a solid mid table RB as cover in the PL, on the other side we’ve again got a lad who is still young but of similar quality competing with another young lad who had a lot of suitors. Oddest thing is it’s one place on the pitch we are sorted for 5-10 years fingers crossed.
So for Hoever it really was at CB that he may break through however there are so many and he isn’t getting the game time he needs to push on. I wish him well if there are increments in the deal and it allows us to bring in more recruitments that benefit the team now I’m happy to see it done.
Yeah, having a high ceiling is great, but the supposed ceiling a kid has in the youth team is far less important than how they respond when thrown in to compete against the men. Neco has done it to the point that he not just jumped over Ki as the first kid in line for a shot, but as a relied upon first team player. The reality is that at some point in the past 12 months Neco overtook Ki in the club’s thinking. I dont think it is very common for those trajectories to cross twice for players whose trend lines were once so far apart.
There was a time when we had Robinson on the left and Kelly/Flanno on the right and thought the same thing. This shit is fleeting so I’m just enjoying it now while I can.
It’s a shame. Had high hopes for the lad, but the coaching staff see the players every day and know best. Wish him good luck. He’s gone to a good club with a great manager at least.
A little uncertain how I feel about this one but the reality is, if Klopp was willing to sell, that’s all I need to know. If there’s a buyback, even better. I had high hopes for him as a CB but if he’s being allowed to go, so be it.
It’s a terrific move for him BTW, slots in perfectly in a 3 with Wolves, a club with high ambitions and a willingness to chase those dreams. He isn’t ready to make it here so that might be the next best thing for him.
Highly unlikely this lad would have had a significant impact on the first team for a few years.Better for him if he’s sold on as his chances of making it at a decent level will increase with regular first team game time which he has a better chance of getting at Wolves.Good luck to him,hopefully he makes it.We may even see him back playing for us some day.
I’m disappointed as I like him a lot and had hopes of him evolving into a defensive jack of all trades able to cover both FB positions and CB but had a feeling DM may turn into his main position. But in all fairness it’ll be a couple of years before he would get significant game time in these areas and he’s probably too developed for the u23s. Still I would have preferred him agreeing a new five year contract with the first two years on loan somewhere. Wolves are perfect for him though. Their three at the back negates his physicality issues of playing at CB and couple of years in that system he’ll probably be ready to be a starter in a 2 CB defence at a top side, maybe even us if we find ourselves needing someone. Meanwhile it helps our reputation as a great place for young players. Get chances, develop under best people in the game for it, but we won’t stand in your way if we can’t use you.
As others have said, though it is sad to see a young player leave as we all love the romance of youth players breaking into the first team, I don’t think he had much of a shot at carving out a first team place here. It is far better to let him move somewhere where he’ll get more chances. Look at Connor Coady now for example.
