Xabi Alonso has been proven right about Henderson

Xabi Alonso knows a thing or two about top class midfielders.

Indeed, the classy Spaniard was a fan favourite during his time at Liverpool, helping the Reds win the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005.

Alonso would depart for Real Madrid in 2009, and would win every major trophy during his time at the Bernabeu, before another successful spell with Bayern Munich in Germany.

The 38-year-old is now back at his boyhood club, Real Sociedad, cutting his teeth in management with their B team.

But he still keeps a keen eye on his former clubs and you can be sure he'll be desperate to see Liverpool end their 30-year wait to win a league title as they close in on glory.

And Alonso actually predicted that one man would be central to Liverpool's efforts to win the Premier League.

The captain, Jordan Henderson.

Henderson has enjoyed what is probably his best campaign at Anfield, shining in a variety of midfield roles and inspiring his team-mates in what has been a remarkable league campaign.

But none of that will have surprised Alonso, who predicted that Henderson would be a huge influence this term.

After watching Henderson lift the European Cup in June, Alonso gave an interview to the BBC in which he correctly forecasted the Liverpool captain's development this term.

He said: "I am a Liverpool fan.

"Last season it was phenomenal, the race that both teams had. What City did, what Liverpool did, it's going to be tough to repeat but they have the project that is stable, they know what they want but the Premier League is tough. It's still early days, but why not?

"Jordan Henderson has become a figure in the changing room. I think he's so respected, so important for his team-mates - that's the sense I get from watching in the stands. For the way they play it's very important, the energy he has.

"He's able to take that step forwards, not backwards to make that pressure a bit higher. The way he connects with the three players up front, they play very direct and the way Liverpool is playing is the Jurgen way - the way they played at Dortmund with him and the way they play at Liverpool now."

Henderson is now one of the leading contenders to win PFA Player of the Year and will soon be seen shuffling his feet before lifting the Premier League title.

But it wasn't always this way for the midfielder.

The former Sunderland man has dealt with critics practically his entire Anfield career, with this season perhaps the sole campaign in which he's not had to deal with questions surrounding his position.

So to lead Liverpool to back-to-back trophies, the two biggest ones at that, is clear justification for a man who had to put up with so much.

And it's further proof that the world class Alonso knows exactly what he's talking about.

It takes one to know one, after all.