Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has heaped praise on Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne after beating him to the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year award.

Many believed that De Bruyne should have been handed the prize for his displays this season.

“Kevin's an unbelievable player," said Henderson.

“He's grown as a player, I remember watching him when he was at Chelsea and he was just coming onto the scene, that was the first time I really saw him.

“He looked like a special player then and he's continued to grow. You can see all the hard work and the confidence that he has.

“He's improved every single season, he's got better. I don't know he personally, but he's got that hunger and desire to want to improve and work as hard as he possibly can.

“He's a credit to Manchester City and to the Premier League.

“To have players like him [in the Premier League] is amazing, and to play against him is hard, but I enjoy testing myself against the best players in the world, it's something that I've always relished.

“I've got huge amounts of respect for Kevin, and if you look right across the board of the Premier League there's so many good players, and I'm just lucky and fortunate enough to be playing in this league."