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 12 assists this Premier League season are two more than his nearest competitors — Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka — and give him 98 for his career. That’s fifth all-time, two more than Dennis Bergkamp and 64 (?!) 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 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 since won the nascent Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award twice, including a 20-assist 2019-20 season, and he’s on pace to make it three of six. 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 a gaudy 3.61 chances per 90 minutes. 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 — 12
- Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 10
- Leandro Trossard, Arsenal/Brighton — 8
- 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
- Jack Harrison, Leeds — 6
- Bernardo Silva, Man City — 5
- Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur — 6
- James Maddison, Leicester City — 6
- Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal — 5
- Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest — 5
- Ivan Perisic, Tottenham Hotspur — 5
- Granit Xhaka, Arsenal — 5
- Michael Olise, Crystal Palace — 5
- Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa — 5
- Erling Haaland, Man City — 5
- Rodri, Manchester City — 5
- Kieran Trippier, Newcastle United — 5
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa — 5