Harry Diamond
The Premier League’s leading assist providers are worth their weight in gold to top flight sides, but which players have been the most prolific creators of goals throughout the history of the division?
We’ve decided to look at the five players with the best minutes-per-assist ratios in Premier League history, featuring only players who have registered more than 25 assists in the competition:
Cesc Fabregas – 238 minutes-per-assist (111)
Only one player has ever managed more Premier League assists than former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, the Spaniard amongst the finest passers in English football throughout an illustrious career at the two London rivals.
Fabregas possesses the best assist-per-game ratio of any player inside the league’s all-time top 10 for assists, whilst his career average of 238 minutes-per-assist is the fifth best the division has seen.
The playmaker twice finished as the Premier League’s leading assist provider during his time with the Gunners, providing more assists than any other player in consecutive seasons in 2006/07 and 2007/08, the second season seeing Fabregas named as the PFA Young Player of the Year.
He finished as the Premier League’s most prolific creator again during the 2014/15 campaign, a season in which Chelsea were crowned as champions under Jose Mourinho.
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Dennis Bergkamp – 236 minutes-per-assist (94)
Dennis Bergkamp will forever be remembered as one of Arsenal’s greatest ever players following his achievements in north London, the Dutchman an inspirational figure during the early successes of the Arsene Wenger era.
Equally adept at scoring or assisting, Bergkamp registered 94 assists during a Premier League career that delivered three league titles, including two domestic doubles and a famed unbeaten season.
At times Arsenal’s free-flowing side centred around the former Netherlands international, Bergkamp effortlessly conducting the play and threading perfect passes into the likes of Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg.
Bergkamp is amongst a collection of players for who statistics only tell half the story, his tangible output paling in comparison to the artistry of one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.
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Nani – 226 minutes per assist (43)
The abiding memory of Nani’s career at Manchester United is one of unfulfilled potential, which on reflection seems incredibly harsh on a player with a mightily impressive collection of silverware and a highlight reel few can match.
Nani suffered from being billed as the next Cristiano Ronaldo and whilst he may have frustrated on occasion, he won the Champions League and played his part in four title-winning sides at Old Trafford.
The fleet-footed star was a constant threat on either flank and a regular provider of opportunities for his teammates, providing 43 assists across his seven seasons in English football at a rate of an assist every 226 minutes.
His finest individual hour came during the club’s title-winning season of 2010/11, finishing as the leading assist provider in the Premier League to be named as United’s Player of the Year and earn inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.
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Leroy Sane – 217 minutes-per-assist (28)
Leroy Sane seems set to leave Manchester City in the coming months with Bayern Munich desperate to take the winger back to the Bundesliga, and the Bavarian’s interest is justified for one of the Premier League’s finest creative talents.
Sane has starred since his arrival at the Etihad from Schalke, enjoying a debut season of adaptation before registering double figures for both goals and assists in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
The first of those campaigns saw the Germany international named as the PFA Young Player of the Year after registering a career-best of 15 assists, his tally of 28 coming at a rate of 217 minutes-per-assist.
Sane’s electric pace and wicked delivery from the left-flank has made him one of the most exciting talents in English football in recent seasons, with only one player having ever provided more assists-per-minute than the 24-year-old.
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Kevin De Bruyne – 182 minutes-per-assist (62)
The Premier League’s current creative king and a man likely to set all kinds of records tumbling should he remain in England’s top tier, no player has ever provided assists with more regularity than Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne became the fastest player in the division’s history to reach 50 Premier League assists in a clash against Bournemouth earlier this season, eclipsing the landmark set by Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil by a huge 18 games.
Kevin De Bruyne has been directly involved in 25 Premier League goals this season, his best-ever return in the competition:
❍ 2019/20: 9 goals + 16 assists
❍ 2016/17: 6 goals + 18 assists
❍ 2017/18: 8 goals + 16 assistsNow he’s chasing 30+. pic.twitter.com/58G8LNPF6C
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 18, 2020
He is also the first player in history to have registered 15+ assists in three separate campaigns, whilst his 16 for the season so far means he is rapidly closing in on Thierry Henry’s all-time single season record of 20.
Arguably the best midfielder in world football, few would bet against the Belgium international achieving that feat before the season’s end, a player who makes the outrageous look effortless on an almost weekly basis at present.
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