Ki-Jana Hoever has, so far, failed to live up to expectations at Wolverhampton Wanderers but Julen Lopetegui should consider recalling him in January to aid the Old Gold's relegation battle.

The Dutch defender arrived at Molineux in 2020 having established himself as a top young talent at Liverpool, joining in a deal worth £13.5m when he was just 18.

He had already made four appearances for Jurgen Klopp's senior side, scoring one goal, so there seemed little to suggest that he wouldn't be able to live up to his big potential with more regular game time at Molineux.

Ex-manager Bruno Lage was certainly impressed with him after he made his return from injury in an U23s game last season. He said:

“Ki is coming back and did a fantastic recovery. He’s just started working with us this week and he wants to play with the under-23s to have some minutes.

“I hope until the end of the year, if I have the chance to put him in the games, I will put him in the games with no problems because I don’t drop anyone."

However, he made just 25 appearances in his first two seasons with the Midlands club and was sent on loan to PSV Eindhoven during the summer.

While he has also found game time hard to come by with the Dutch side, his rare appearances in the first team have been impressive, evidenced by his 7.21 average rating from WhoScored across his five outings in the Eredivisie.

He also caught the eye in their 2-1 win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, earning a 7.45 rating from WhoScored, which suggests that he is a more than capable right-back when given the opportunity to start.

Considering he is struggling for regular starts under Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Lopetegui needs all the help he can get at Molineux, the Spaniard should consider recalling the 20-year-old in January as competition for Nelson Semedo at right-back.

The Portuguese defender has been woeful on a number of occasions this season, averaging a shocking 6.31 rating from WhoScored, with the 3-2 defeat against Brighton where his foolish red card cost the Old Gold any real chance of taking anything from the game a clear example of why he isn't good enough.

Semedo has proven himself to be a defensive "liability" throughout his time at Wolves and with their future in the Premier League on the line, Lopetegui should definitely think about bringing Hoever back to Molineux next month.