Stoke City: Underrated £40k-a-week ace can lead rise up Championship table
This Stoke City player can be the key to their climb up the Championship table.
Stoke City’s recent back-to-back wins, including their surprising victory over Leeds United, could be a turning point in their season.
Key defender Ki-Jana Hoever has been a standout player for Stoke City this season, consistently performing well and making a significant impact on the team.
With Hoever leading the way and the potential for improved defensive and attacking performances, Stoke City has the opportunity to climb the Championship table and achieve success.
It’s been a frustrating season for Stoke City so far, but they will hope recent results can be a springboard for success.
The Potters came into this season with a sense of optimism, as they had made a lot of changes to the squad during the summer, and they were additions that looked good on paper.
However, for whatever reason, the campaign has just not got going for Stoke, with wins followed up by defeats before a run of really bad performances.
But Alex Neil’s men have claimed back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season, with their latest win coming over Leeds United.
At the heart of that win was defender Ki-Jana Hoever, who has been performing well for the club all season but really stood out on Wednesday night.
Can Stoke City’s win over Leeds United be a catalyst for the season?
As mentioned, it has been an up-and-down campaign so far for the Potters, but their win over Sunderland last weekend was hugely significant, as they had been on a poor run of form, but that gave them a big sigh of relief.
But it got even better on Wednesday night, as Stoke managed to seal a surprising 1-0 win over promotion hopefuls Leeds United.
The Potters rode their luck at times, in particular with Patrick Bamford’s missed penalty, but they edged out the win, and it now means they are only four points adrift of the play-off places.
A number of Stoke’s players played well against Leeds, but Ki-Jana Hoever stood out once again, as he’s done for most of this campaign.
| Championship Table (As it stands October 26th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 13 | -4 | 16 |
| 18 | Plymouth Argyle | 13 | 2 | 15 |
| 19 | Swansea City | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 20 | Coventry City | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 21 | Huddersfield Town | 13 | -10 | 14 |
| 22 | Rotherham United | 12 | -10 | 9 |
| 23 | QPR | 13 | -15 | 8 |
| 24 | Sheffield Wednesday | 13 | -17 | 3 |
Why can Ki-Jana Hoever lead Stoke City to success this season?
Stoke brought in the full-back during the summer on a loan deal from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The defender, who reportedly earns just over £40k-per-week, has started nine of the 10 Championship games he has been available for and is slowly making the right-back slot in this team his own.
He has impressed this season, scoring on his debut against Rotherham United as well as grabbing assists in games against Watford and Bristol City.
But on Wednesday night, he arguably put in his best shift in a Stoke shirt. In that game, Hoever collected two tackles, two interceptions, three clearances, and one block, as per WhoScored.com.
Going forward, he completed 37 passes, with 67.6% being accurate, and in that game alone, he recorded four key passes. Furthermore, he completed two dribbles and three crosses, the most he’s achieved so far this season. His overall WhoScored.com match rating for that game was 8.00, his best to date.
The 21-year-old put in an unbelievable shift on Wednesday night, and that can only be good news for Stoke and Neil.
The defender is showing his Premier League class, and if he keeps on doing that, he can have a big say in Stoke climbing up the Championship table.
He obviously can’t do it single-handedly, but if he can keep putting in performances like that, Stoke are bound to get better in defence, and he is likely going to produce more going forward.
Neil needs to settle on a defence, and after Wednesday, Hoever has the right to think he is now Stoke’s first-choice right-back. So, with performances like that from him and the team, there is no reason why the Potters can’t keep climbing the table.
