Liverpool hero Emile Heskey says his old club will replace Manchester City as England's dominant club.

Successive Champions League finals – the last a 2-0 triumph against Tottenham in Madrid a year ago – and powerful back-to-back Premier League seasons have elevated Liverpool from nearly men to the headline act in England and Europe.

Heskey said: “Liverpool have slowly got to the point where they are now kind of the dominant force. They are the standard-­bearers now.

It was Manchester City for a while, but now Liverpool have taken on that mantle. But with their forward line getting a year older, can they carry on doing it at that level? That's the question

“And then your recruitment has to be special too. You have to bring in players who are really going to make a difference when they come into the side, players who can hit the ground running.

“Manchester City have got it right in that sense, but Liverpool are slowly doing that too."