Which Player Has Provided the Most Assists in a Premier League Season? Fernandes Closing in on Record
Tom Hancock
As Manchester United moved closer to Champions League qualification with a 1-0 at Chelsea on Saturday, Bruno Fernandes moved to 18 Premier League assists for the season.
A leading contender for player-of-the-year awards, the Man United captain is now just two assists away from equalling the record the most in a single Premier League campaign – and with five games still to go this term, don’t be surprised to see him break the record.
Here, we take a look at the English top flight’s outstanding creators from seasons gone by…
Leading Premier League Assist Providers 2025/26
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) | 18 |
Rayan Cherki (Manchester City) | 10 |
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) | 8 |
Erling Haaland (Manchester City) | 7 |
James Garner (Everton) | 6 |
Harry Wilson (Fulham) | 6 |
Mo Salah (Liverpool) | 6 |
Jack Grealish (Everton) | 6 |
What Is the Record for the Most Assists in a Premier League Season?
The record for the most assists in a Premier League season is 20, jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Henry reached that impressive milestone first, doing so with Arsenal during the 2002/03 campaign; De Bruyne then equalled it for Manchester City in 2019/20.
Two other players have come within one of the record, providing 19 assists in a Premier League season: Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) in 2014/15 and Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) the following campaign.
Which Player Has Provided the Most Assists in a Premier League Season the Most Times?
Five players have finished as the leading assist provider in a Premier League campaign on three different occasions.
Eric Cantona was the first to achieve the feat, setting up 16 goals in the inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season – when he played for both Leeds and Man United – then finishing joint top of the assist charts with Andy Cole (Newcastle) in 1993/94 and ranking first outright again in 1996/97.
The other players to emulate Cantona are David Beckham (Man United), Cesc Fabregas (twice for Arsenal, once for Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea) and De Bruyne (Man City).
Is There a Prize for the Top Assist Provider in the Premier League?
Since 2017/18, the player with the most assists in a Premier League season has been presented with the Playmaker of the Season award – the creative equivalent to the Golden Boot for the league’s leading goalscorer.
De Bruyne was the first recipient of the award, with Mo Salah (Liverpool) winning it last time around.
Perhaps surprisingly given that Fernandes has amassed 69 assists in his six-and-a-half Premier League campaigns do date, he’s never finished the season with the most assists.
Should he do so this term – which, considering his nearest challenger, Man City’s Rayan Cherki, is currently eight assists behind him, looks almost certain – the 31-year-old will become the second Portuguese to lead the way in Premier League assists after another Man United player, Nani, who set up 14 goals in 2010/11.
