‘I Didn’t Know’ – Boss Surprised By What Liverpool Loan Star Did | OneFootball

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Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has hailed Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas for his performance against Wrexham and admits he did not know he was good in the air.

The 2005-born attacking talent came through Tranmere Rovers’ academy, and Liverpool snapped him up from the Merseyside club.

Koumas made his Reds debut in the FA Cup against Southampton two years ago and has been loaned out away from the club on a consistent basis to further his development.

One Wales youth-level coach lauded Liverpool for Koumas’ careful management over the years at the club.

The versatile forward was told to improve his defensive work rate during his loan spell at Stoke City, where he played 49 times and contributed to nine goals directly.

Koumas experienced a forgettable loan spell at Birmingham City in the first half of the season, where he was a bit-part option for Chris Davies.

Hull City loaned him in mid-season, and Koumas has been making an impact at the Tigers, as he has scored three league goals in nine matches, mostly playing as an impact substitute.

He scored the match-winning goal against Welsh outfit Wrexham on Tuesday and Jakirovic thanked him for his important contribution.

Winger Liam Millar had to slot in as a left wing-back due to injury issues and the Hull boss lauded Koumas for doing his defensive duties.

The Bosnian boss is of the view that the Liverpool attacker is dangerous in attacking transitions, hailing him for his big future, while revealing he was surprised to see Koumas doing so well in the air.

“Of course, he is a very young player, but he has very big potential, and he is very fast”, Jakirovic told the Tigers’ media (5:06) when he was asked about Koumas’ performance.

“In the phases of defence he is great too, because he tried to help Liam [Millar].

“Liam played a completely different position because we have problems there, but he also gave everything there, credit to him.

“But for Kumi [Koumas], I am very happy for him because he scored, he is a very dangerous player during our counter-attacks and that too with a header.

“I didn’t know that he can score by head because I didn’t see that yet.

“But thank God he scored and we took very important three points.”

Hull City are looking to stay in the top six of the Championship, or they could get even more ambitious about making it to second place, after Middlesbrough lost on Wednesday.

Koumas will be keen to keep making a positive difference for Jakirovic’s side and end the season on a high before he returns to Anfield when the campaign ends.