Premier League assist leaders: Who will win Playmaker of the Season?
The impressive number of assists Kevin De Bruyne has accumulated raises some questions.
It makes us wonder if he ever thought about whether he could have broken the Premier League record if he had been utilized better by Jose Mourinho during his time at Chelsea
De Bruyne currently has 12 assists this season, three more than his closest competitor, Bukayo Saka from Arsenal.
He has a total of 97 assists in his career, which places him in fifth position on the all-time list. This is two more than Dennis Bergkamp and a significant 65 behind the record holder, Ryan Giggs.
At the age of 22, Kevin De Bruyne joined Chelsea from Werder Bremen, but he only managed to play 425 minutes in a half-season before being sold to Wolfsburg. However, he performed well in the Bundesliga, providing six assists for the remainder of the season and setting up 21 goals in the following season. This led to his move to Manchester City.
De Bruyne has won the Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award twice, including a remarkable 20-assist season in 2019-20. He is currently on track to win it for the third time in six years. Other winners of the award include Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Eden Hazard, but it is a relatively new award, only being five years old.
De Bruyne was also the top assist provider in the Premier League in 2016-17, the year before the award was introduced.
His current stats suggest that there is still more to come from him, as he is creating an impressive 3.59 chances per 90 minutes. After scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists in the previous season, De Bruyne is now back to his best in setting up goals, although he faces competition from Erling Haaland in this regard.
Premier League 2022-23 assist leaders
- Kevin De Bruyne, Man City — 12
- Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 9
- Christian Eriksen, Manchester United — 7
- Mohamed Salah, Liverpool — 7
- Andreas Pereira, Fulham — 6
- Alex Iwobi, Everton — 6
- Martin Odegaard, Arsenal — 6
- Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United — 6
- Andy Robertson, Liverpool — 6
- Bernardo Silva, Man City — 5
- Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur — 5
- Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal — 5
- Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest — 5
- Ivan Perisic, Tottenham Hotspur — 5
- Granit Xhaka, Arsenal — 5
- James Maddison, Leicester City — 5
- Michael Olise, Crystal Palace — 5
- Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa — 5
- Jack Harrison, Leeds — 5
- Erling Haaland, Man City — 5
- Rodri, Manchester City — 5
- Jamie Vardy, Leicester City — 4
- Marcus Tavernier, Bournemouth — 4
- Kieran Trippier, Newcastle — 4
- Kenny Tete, Fulham — 4
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa — 4
- Mathias Jensen, Brentford — 4
- Solly March, Brighton and Hove Albion — 4
- Kelechi Iheanacho, Leicester City — 4
- Riyad Mahrez, Man City — 4
- Dominic Solanke, Bournemouth — 4
- Jack Grealish, Man City — 4
- Kostas Tsimikas, Liverpool — 4
- Phil Foden, Man City — 4
- Pascal Gross, Brighton — 4
- Leandro Trossard, Arsenal/Brighton — 4
- Roberto Firmino, Liverpool — 4
Premier League assist leaders: Who will win Playmaker of the Season?
