Inside track on Bobby Duncan, Ki-Jana Hoever and the high point of a great year for Liverpool’s academy

It’s been the perfect ending to a memorable year for Liverpool’s first team. The win over Wolves on Friday ensured the Reds will be top at Christmas – and Manchester City’s shock defeat at home to Crystal Palace the following afternoon guarantees that the four-point gap between the sides has stayed intact. But it’s not just at senior level that the club is thriving. The Under-18s won a dramatic FA Youth Cup tie with Portsmouth in St Helens on Tuesday 3-2 thanks to a late winner from the prolific Bobby Duncan. It continued a brilliant run of form for Barry Lewtas’ side that has seen them book their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Youth League and move up to second in the U18s Premier League. Further good news came in the fact that Ki-Jana Hoever, the 16-year-old defender signed from Ajax in the summer, has been promoted to train with Jurgen Klopp’s senior side. And for the latest Academy Show podcast, Paul Wheelock speak to our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce about the Dutchman, about Duncan, and about the U23s, who themselves have ended 2018 on a high, and about Ben Woodburn ahead of his expected return from Sheffield United on loan For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices