Kevin De Bruyne’s gaudy assist numbers give rise to any number of considerations, and we have to wonder if the Manchester City star has ever wondered if the Premier League record would be his in a world in which Jose Mourinho found better use for him at Chelsea.
De Bruyne’s 16 assists this Premier League season were four more than his nearest competitor s-- Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah -- and give him 102 for his career. That’s fourth all-time, one fewer than Wayne Rooney and 60 (?!) behind record holder Ryan Giggs.
[ MORE: Premier League Golden Boot race ]
The Belgian star, 31, arrived at Chelsea from Werder Bremen at the age of 22 and managed only 425 minutes in a half-season before being offloaded to Wolfsburg. Back in the Bundesliga, De Bruyne got six assists the rest of the way before setting up 21 goals the next season to set up a move to Man City.
He’s now won the nascent Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award thrice, including a 20-assist 2019-20 season. Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Eden Hazard have also won the award, which is only five years old.
De Bruyne also led the Premier League in assists in 2016-17, the year before the league but a name on the honor.
His stats hint that there’s more to come, as ‘KDB’ is creating gaudy numbers. After a season in which he scored 15 times with eight assists, De Bruyne is back taunting those who’d dare chase him in terms of setting up goals (Some guy named Erling Haaland is helping...).
Premier League 2022-23 assist leaders
- Kevin De Bruyne, Man City -- 16
- Mohamed Salah, Liverpool -- 12
- Leandro Trossard, Arsenal/Brighton -- 12
- Bukayo Saka, Arsenal -- 11
- Michael Olise, Crystal Palace -- 11
- Riyad Mahrez, Man City -- 10
- James Maddison, Leicester City -- 9
- Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool -- 9
- Andy Robertson, Liverpool -- 8
- Ivan Perisic, Tottenham Hotspur -- 8
- Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United -- 8
- Christian Eriksen, Manchester United -- 8
- Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest -- 8
- Pascal Gross, Brighton -- 8
- Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford -- 8
- Erling Haaland, Man City -- 8
- Martin Odegaard, Arsenal -- 7
- Solly March, Brighton -- 7
- Jack Harrison, Leeds -- 7
- Granit Xhaka, Arsenal -- 7
- Dominic Solanke, Bournemouth -- 7
- Kieran Trippier, Newcastle United -- 7
- Alex Iwobi, Everton -- 7
- Jack Grealish, Man City -- 7
- Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur -- 7
- Jacob Ramsey, Aston Villa -- 7
- Andreas Pereira, Fulham -- 6
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa -- 6
- Rodri, Manchester City -- 6
- Joe Willock, Newcastle -- 6
- Mathias Jensen, Brentford -- 6
- Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa -- 6
- Heung-min Son, Tottenham Hotspur -- 6
- Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal -- 6