Hansen: That's why we signed him
Alan Hansen is confident Jordan Henderson will fill the void left by Lucas Leiva at the heart of Liverpool's midfield - and is tipping him to carve out a bright future with the club.
The Reds legend has been hugely impressed by the England U21 star in recent weeks, pointing to his display in Saturday's 1-0 victory over QPR as an example of why Kenny Dalglish was so keen to prise him away from Sunderland in the summer transfer window.
Hansen told LFC magazine "I thought it would be interesting to see who Kenny puts in the centre of midfield in the absence of Lucas, Steven Gerrard and Jay Spearing. Jordan Henderson was selected and he did well.
"Ultimately, Jordan will be a central midfield player for Liverpool. He can get box-to-box quite easily because he has a great engine on him.
"People tend to forget that Henderson is only 21 because he came from an established Barclays Premier League club in Sunderland, where he played almost 100 games.
"He's just a kid. It's asking a lot of him to be at his best every time he plays, but because of the transfer fee paid there are people who have judged him too early.
"Back in August he scored a brilliant goal against Bolton. He showed what he could do that day and in the last three or four matches he has either come on and done well or started and played exceptionally well.
"I wouldn't have any worries at all about Jordan Henderson stepping into central midfield. He'll ultimately play there anyway and I expect him to stay alongside Charlie Adam at Villa Park on Sunday."