Henderson beats De Bruyne to Football Writers' Player of the Year award

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has won the Football Writers' Player of the Year award for the 2019/20 campaign.

The 30-year-old became the first Liverpool captain to lift a league trophy in 30 years when the Reds finally got their hands of the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Henderson endured a difficult start to life at Liverpool but his leadership skills on and off the pitch have improved tremendously under Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool have not looked the same side this season when Henderson, who is currenty recovering from a knee injury, has not played.

Illustrated by a win ratio of 88.5% in the Premier League and 0.58 goals conceded per game when Henderson has started compared to 72.7% and 1.55 goals conceded per game when he has not featured from the off.

Henderson is the second Liverpool player in three years to land the FWA Player of the Year award after Mohamed Salah in 2017/18.

While Henderson's impact on the Liverpool team cannot be understated, he has been voted by football writers mainly for his leadership skills as opposed to individual performances.

Henderson ranks 33rd in our Premier League player ratings for the 2019/20 campaign (7.15 rating), though has the eighth best rating (7.40) in the divison in 2020. 

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne was voted second by the FWA and the 29-year-old is currently the top WhoScored rated player in the Premier League (7.91 rating).

De Bruyne is the first and only player in the Premier League to reach 30 goal involvements this season (11 goals, 19 assists).

The Belgium international is also the only player to register 100+ key passes in the Premier League this season and has created at least 12 more clear-cut chances than anyone else.