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Ki-Jana Hoever has been given the green light to kick off his fledgling Liverpool career after the Reds received international clearance to play the Dutch wonderkid.

The 16-year-old agreed a move from Ajax in August but the club have had to wait almost a month for the paperwork to be approved.

However, the highly-rated prospect who chose to come to Liverpool ahead of several of their Premier League rivals including Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, has been given the go ahead to pull on a red shirt in competitive action after training at the club's Kirkby Academy for several weeks.

Under-18s manager Barry Lewtas – whose side warm up for Tuesday's UEFA Youth League opener against Paris St Germain with a home game against their Newcastle United counterparts in Premier League U18 on Saturday – is delighted that Hoever's move has now been given a seal of approval.

He said: “It's great for him. He's a good boy. They're young lads and they just want to play.

“I spoke to him this morning and he's over the moon that he's now available.

“His journey begins now because he can train and try and force his way into the team. It's really exciting for us.”

(Image: AFC Ajax - Youtube)

Lewtas – who succeeded Steven Gerrard in the summer after the Anfield legend was appointed by Rangers – admits that the versatile arrives with a prominent standing within the Dutch game but doesn't want to weigh him down too much with the burden of expectation so soon.

He said: “Ki's just been away with the national team and played right-back, but he's played centre-back. He's got a load of real positive attributes.

“I don't want to sell him too much. Ajax is a big club and he comes in with a big reputation - he's an international.

“But I certainly don't want to heap too much pressure on him. He's early in his journey here, he'll take some time to adapt.

“What I can say is that he's trained really well and I know he's going to fit in really well.”

Liverpool's current Academy squad has an eclectic mix of locals lads and recruits from further afield and Lewtas has backed Hoever to continue his assimilation as he joins a pool of players that includes a dozen Merseysiders; 13 players from other parts of England; four from the rest of the British Isles and eight more like himself from overseas.

He said: “Blimey, moving out at 16 to another country. Credit to him, he speaks fantastic English so that'll help him settle. I think his English is better than mine!

“It's big for kids to move to university at 18 - and that's down the motorway. So for a boy to move country, I wouldn't underestimate the time it takes to adapt. They'll be ups and downs and they'll have to start managing things themselves a little bit.

“We have a real good network here – in terms of the house parents they stay with and the welfare.

“The beauty is that there's other boys that have come before. The club are experienced in knowing every club is different, but patterns can emerge as well and boys get a little bit homesick and things are going quite well.”