Most Premier League assists in a single season: Bruno Fernandes equals EPL record originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's generally true that goal-scorers get most of the adulation in football.
That said, there has been renewed focus on those providing the telling contributions to those goals since such data began being collected in earnest in the Premier League era.
Bruno Fernandes might not have enjoyed much team success of late, but the Manchester United captain has the chance in 2025/26 to claim a slice of history in England's top flight. He is tantalisingly close to setting an all-time record.
Here, The Sporting News looks over the best individual seasons when it comes to assists since the Premier League began in 1992.
MORE: Updated rankings in the EPL Golden Boot race
Most Premier League assists in a single season
The record for the most Premier League assists in a single season was jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, who both managed 20 in one campaign.
Henry racked up his superb assist tally at Arsenal, in the 2002/03 season, while De Bruyne laid on 20 assists for City in 2019/20.
De Bruyne's 20 in 2019/20 was his best single-season return at City, after making 18 assists in 2016/17, and 16 in 2017/18.
And Bruno Fernandes joined them on 20 by setting up Bryan Mbeumo to score in United's penultimate match of the 2025/26 season.
Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil in fourth place in the one-season list, with 19 assists in 2015/16. Ozil's haul is followed by former Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas, along with Mohamed Salah in Liverpool's title-winning campaign of 2024/25 and De Bruyne's 2016/17 efforts.
Most Premier League assists in a single season
Season
Player
Assists
2002/03
Thierry Henry
20
2019/20
Kevin De Bruyne
20
2025/26
Bruno Fernandes
20
2015/16
Mesut Ozil
19
2024/25
Mohamed Salah
18
2004/05
Frank Lampard
18
2014/15
Cesc Fabregas
18
2016/17
Kevin De Bruyne
18
2007/08
Cesc Fabregas
17
2022/23
Kevin De Bruyne
16
1992/93
Eric Cantona
16
2017/18
Kevin De Bruyne
16
1994/95
Matthew Le Tissier
15
1995/96
Steve McManaman
15
1999/00
David Beckham
15
1999/00
Nolberto Solano
15
2001/02
Robert Pires
15
2011/12
David Silva
15
2016/17
Christian Eriksen
15
2017/18
Leroy Sane
15
2018/19
Eden Hazard
15
Can Bruno Fernandes break single-season assist record?
As of May 17, Fernandes has 20 assists in 34 appearances this season, eight more than nearest rival Rayan Cherki.
He pulled level with Henry and De Bruyne's all-time mark by teeing up Mbeumo in Manchester United's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on May 17.
Fernandes could easily have had the record outright as the hosts missed several chances at Old Trafford. He will get one more chance to stand alone when United travel to Brighton and Hove Albion on the final weekend of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Most assists all-time in Premier League history
De Bruyne broke the 100 Premier League assist mark in 2022/23, becoming only the fifth player to register over a century of assists in Premier League history, alongside Ryan Giggs, Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Lampard.
Player
Team(s)
Assists
Appearances
1.
Ryan Giggs
Manchester United
162
632
2.
Kevin De Bruyne
Chelsea, Manchester City
119
288
3.
Cesc Fabregas
Arsenal, Chelsea
111
350
4.
Wayne Rooney
Everton, Manchester United
103
491
5.
Frank Lampard
Chelsea, Manchester City
102
609
6.
Dennis Bergkamp
Arsenal
94
315
7.
David Silva
Manchester City
93
309
8.
Mohamed Salah*
Chelsea, Liverpool
93
324
=
Steven Gerrard
Liverpool
92
504
10.
James Milner*
Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion
90
657
11.
Ashley Young
Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Everton
84
485
12
David Beckham
Manchester United
80
265
13.
Christian Eriksen
Tottenham, Brentford, Manchester United
78
310
14.
Teddy Sheringham
Tottenham, Manchester United, Portsmouth, West Ham
76
418
15.
Thierry Henry
Arsenal
74
258
16.
Andrew Cole
Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland
73
414
17.
Son Heung-min
Tottenham
71
333
=
Bruno Fernandes*
Manchester United
71
229
19.
Darren Anderton
Tottenham, Birmingham City
69
319
=
Stewart Downing
Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, West Brom
69
408
*Denotes active player still in the Premier League
Most assists in a Premier League match
The most assists by one player in a single Premier League match is four (4). Seven players have managed it, and four of them played for Arsenal at the time.
The first player to achieve the feat was Dennis Bergkamp, who provided four assists in the Gunners' 5-0 win over Leicester City in February 1999.
The trick was not repeated until 2006, by Bergkamp's teammate Jose Antonio Reyes in Arsenal's 7-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough, as Henry scored a hat-trick, to equal Cliff Bastin's record of 150 league goals for the Gunners.
Cesc Fabregas racked up four assists for Arsene Wenger's side, as they beat Blackburn Rovers 6-2 in October 2009.
Three years later, former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor set up four goals in an amazing first half, as Tottenham cruised to a 5-0 win over Newcastle.
Arsenal were the common theme again in the record books, as Santi Cazorla laid on four goals in 2010, as the Gunners beat Wigan Athletic 4-1.
It would be another seven years until Harry Kane set up four goals for Son Heung-min, as Tottenham hammered Southampton 5-2. Then, in August 2021, Paul Pogba became the first non-Spurs or Arsenal player to make four assists in a game in Manchester United's 5-1 demolition of Leeds United.
