How Jordan Henderson became the driving force behind Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years

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Liverpool have changed the English game as we know it. The Premier League champions-elect have showcased a consistency of sheer brilliance that has never come before. In the season of all seasons, however, there has been one particular driving force that has become the embodiment of Jurgen Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’.

Liverpool’s irreplaceable captain Jordan Henderson epitomises the club’s unwavering demand for perfection; 24 wins from 25, 73 points from 75, two points dropped in 11 months, unbeaten at Anfield in the league since 2017 these are not the stats of champions but of another species entirely. The Reds are on course for a finish of 112 points – I’ll say that again, 112!

In the season of his life, it’s quite fitting that Henderson’s best has come at a time where the team is functioning on a level that is unrivalled across the globe. Everything the skipper offers has been paramount to where the Reds are today.

He sparkles on and off the ball, spraying passes, sweeping up possession or whether it’s finding that killer pass, Henderson can do it all. The midfield general can battle as well, he can put a foot in when needed and consistently plays for the badge as if his life depended on it.

Every time the Kop chants the skipper’s name there is the story of a player who has completely transformed the way he is perceived in the footballing spectrum. The journey Henderson has been on since his £20m [BBC Sport] move from Sunderland in 2011 has had its fair share of tough times.

In the early years of his Reds career, Henderson became a lightning rod for criticism and even endured a period that almost saw his Liverpool end in tatters after there were murmurs of a potential swap deal for Clint Dempsey. Whilst one of the mentioned names is a retired professional and the other a Champions League-winning captain it really tells you how far the former has come.

Rightly so, the England international is finally getting the plaudits he deserves. Whilst Henderson could very well lift the PFA Player of the Season award, there is only one trophy that the Englishman craves more than anything.

In a season that has seen Klopp’s unbeaten Reds make the unsustainable look ordinary, Henderson has bee the catalyst that has driven his team towards Premier League immortality.