An ability to both create and convert chances is key part of the game for any leading forward talent, though just a handful of names have been prolific when it comes to making and taking opportunities during the 2021/22 campaign.
Just nine have registered 10+ goals and 10+ assists across Europe’s major leagues this season and we’ve decided to appreciate the players to have achieved the feat.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah leads the Premier League rankings for both goals and assists in 2021/22, having provided 35 goal involvements (22G, 13A) for Liverpool so far this season.
The Egyptian international is two clear of Son Heung-Min in the race for the division’s Golden Boot, as he looks to become just the fourth Premier League player to have won the award on three or more occasions.
Salah has also enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in terms of assists and is ahead of Liverpool teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold (12), Andy Robertson (10) and West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen (10) in the standings for the Premier League’s Playmaker accolade.
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The Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year for 2022. Well in, @MoSalah ???? pic.twitter.com/6JEojpRT6z
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 5, 2022
It has been another impressive season for the 29-year-old who has reached elite levels of productivity across his five seasons on Merseyside and Salah – despite a recent dip in output – remains the favourite to add the PFA Player of the Year crown to his FWA Footballer of the Year accolade.
Jarrod Bowen
Jarrod Bowen is the only other Premier League player to have reached 10+ for goals and assists this season, with the 25-year-old having enjoyed a career-best campaign at West Ham.
Bowen’s brilliance saw him named as the Hammers’ Players’ Player of the Year at the club’s end-of-season awards this week and his form has moved the versatile forward into contention for an England call-up.
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???? assistsJarrod Bowen has become the first player to notch 10+ goals and 10+ assists in a single Premier League season for the Club since Paolo Di Canio in 1999/2000. pic.twitter.com/TmQE1NxJq0
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 8, 2022
Only Harry Kane (21) has provided more than Bowen’s 20 goal involvements among English players in the division and he will be in Gareth Southgate’s thoughts ahead of June’s UEFA Nations League campaign.
It’s been a rapid rise for Bowen who has climbed from non-league football to a status as one of the Premier League’s most productive players.
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or later this year after a career-best season from the Real Madrid icon, who has hit 43 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions for the Spanish side this season.
The leading scorer in both the Spanish top flight and the Champions League in 2021/22, Benzema has also provided 11 assists in La Liga – the joint-most in the division alongside Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele.
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Marks out of 10 for @Benzema this season! ????#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/nkvNHxSHTq
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) May 5, 2022
It’s a phenomenal level of output for a forward who celebrated his 34th birthday earlier this season, with Benzema playing the finest football of his career this term.
Having already secured a fourth career league title, attentions will soon turn to landing his fifth Champions League winners’ medal as Real Madrid take on Liverpool in the final on May 28.
Domenico Berardi
Domenico Berardi has been a shining light for Sassuolo in recent seasons, including scoring a career-best 17 league goals during the 2020/21 campaign.
Berardi formed part of the Italy squad that was crowned winners of Euro 2020 last summer and has returned to club level in sparkling form, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists for the Serie A side.
The 27-year-old has reached 10+ league goals in four of the last five seasons for Sassuolo and his form has attracted the interest of Italy’s leading clubs.
AC Milan are understood to be interested in a summer deal for Berardi and club teammate Gianluca Scamacca, the latter level with Berardi as the club’s leading league scorer on 14 goals for the campaign.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been a name regularly linked with a move to Europe’s elite clubs, having cemented his status as one of Serie A’s best midfielders at Lazio.
The Serbian has enjoyed another hugely impressive campaign with the capital club, scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists from a central midfield position.
Lazio president Lotito on Sergej Milinkovic-Savić rumours: "Milinkovic is not for sale. I turned down €140m bid for him [years ago]", tells Rai Sport. ???????? #transfers
"I'd ask Sergej what he wants to do only in case we receive am important proposal from a world class top club". pic.twitter.com/K0fmd49bu7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 10, 2022
Juventus and Manchester United are among the clubs said to be courting the 27-year-old, though Lazio president Claudio Lotito has insisted that midfielder is not for sale amid reported interest from across the continent.
His output will be difficult to replace for Lazio, with Milinkovic-Savic the only recognised central midfielder to feature on this list.
Christopher Nkunku
Christopher Nkunku has been a revelation for RB Leipzig this season, with the move into a more advanced position having seen the Frenchman explode in output.
Nkunku has emerged as one of the most sought-after players in European football after scoring 32 goals and racking up 20 assists in all competitions for the Bundesliga side, an extraordinary increase in his numbers during the best season of his career to date.
Players to score 20+ goals and provide 10+ assists in Europe's top five leagues this season:
◎ Karim Benzema
◎ Kylian Mbappe
◎ Mohamed Salah
◉ Christopher NkunkuKeeping up with the elite. ???? pic.twitter.com/OMzEWg6Ezr
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 8, 2022
The 24-year-old – who can operate in midfield, wide or as a centre-forward – has provided 33 goal involvements (20G, 13A) in just 33 league appearances for Leipzig and it is a run of form that has led to links to several Premier League sides.
Leipzig have insisted he is not for sale this summer, a stance that comes as little surprise given his achievements this season.
Moussa Diaby
Like Nkunku, Moussa Diaby is another Paris Saint-Germain product to have starred since switching to the Bundesliga.
Diaby signed for Bayer Leverkusen in 2019 and has shown impressive season-on-season improvement in Germany, the current campaign having been his finest as the winger has netted 13 goals and provided 12 assists.
.@c_nk97 and @MoussaDiaby_19 have lit up the Bundesliga this season! ???????????? pic.twitter.com/lytpSFoOEY
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) May 9, 2022
Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle have all been linked with a move for the 22-year-old, whilst reported interest from Leverkusen in Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk could pave the way for a big-money exit.
Having racked up 32 goal involvements across all competitions for the Bundesliga side in 2021/22, he could add x-factor and quality in the final third to any interested suitor.
Kylian Mbappe
Ligue 1 defences will be glad to see the back of Kylian Mbappe should he leave PSG this summer, with the forward having been exceptional once again during the 2021/22 campaign.
Mbappe leads French football for both goals and assists during the current season, his performances having inspired the Parisians to an eighth title in the past ten seasons.
???? Out of this world!
✍️ @KMbappe pic.twitter.com/luVsjMYH8W
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 7, 2022
The 23-year-old has scored 24 goals and provided 15 assists in 32 league starts, with the France international three goals clear in his pursuit of a fourth consecutive crown as Ligue 1’s leading scorer.
Real Madrid remain favourites to sign Mbappe on a free transfer this summer and the Spanish side will be acquiring an elite talent that is seemingly getting better and better.
Dimitri Payet
Dimitri Payet is ageing like a fine wine at Marseille, his performances this season having carried the side towards Champions League qualification.
The 35-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in Ligue 1 this season, earning the former West Ham star a nomination for the division’s Player of the Year accolade.
???? @dimpayet17 recorded his ????th assist!
???????? For the occasion, let's relive the top 2️⃣0️⃣ of the best from the @OM_English captain! pic.twitter.com/O8jU83SJz7
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 26, 2022
There have been familiar stunning strikes and moments of mercurial magic from the Frenchman this season, whose displays have helped Marseille to second in France’s top tier and to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Read – Remembering just how special Dimitri Payet was in the 15/16 Premier League season
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