Ki-Jana Hoever has signed a contract extension at Wolves ahead of joining Auxerre on loan for the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season.
The defender heads to France following an impressive 18 months at Stoke City, where he had enjoyed a pair of loan spells from Molineux.
In his first stint at the bet365 Stadium, the Dutchman made 17 appearances during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, having previously spent time at PSV, before returning to the Potters for the whole of last season.
He was a regular at right-back under both Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher, playing 44 times in all competitions, while notching four goals in red and white.
Signed from Liverpool in 2020, the Dutchman has turned out 25 times in old gold and had been part of Gary O’Neil’s squad during the pre-season trips to Marbella and the USA, but with a depth of talent in his position, Hoever now heads to the newly promoted Ligue 1 side to continue his development.
Matt Jackson, head of professional football development, said: “Ki has developed on his previous loans and he’s maturing all the time. He’s been very good during pre-season with Gary and his staff, but we just feel a different challenge in France will be best for his own personal development.
“He showed with Stoke that he has the ability to really affect the Championship, but what he’s got to do now is progress even further and take his game to the next level in one of the top five leagues in Europe.
“Auxerre are a very good club and played some really nice football last season which got them back into Ligue 1, but with every newly promoted club, they’re going to face some tough challenges this season if they are to keep their place in that division, and it’s going to be an even bigger test for Ki.
“We love for our players to be challenged when they go out on loan and Ki will certainly be challenged this season.”
