Kevin De Bruyne’s productive start to the 2022/23 Premier League season has almost gone under the radar.
The freakish output of teammate Erling Haaland, whom he so often serves, has overshadowed De Bruyne’s impressive start to the campaign, but the Belgian has been at his brilliant best.
That said, De Bruyne and his manager Pep Guardiola are always striving for perfection – “He’s not playing at his top level, Kevin, not yet,” the Spaniard said despite De Bruyne’s brilliant goal in the 3-1 win over Brighton in October 2022.
“He scored a fantastic goal, but he’s not playing at his best. He knows, I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic is still not perfect, he knows that, I’ve spoken to him.”
Guardiola’s words are ominous for the rest of the division given just how productive De Bruyne has been at the start of the season, though the record of most assists in a single season is currently one he shares with an all-time Premier League legend.
A pair of all-time Premier League greats currently share the single-season assist record. Thierry Henry and De Bruyne both registered 20 assists during the 2002/03 and 2019/20 seasons respectively.
Henry came ever so close to claiming the Golden Boot during the 02/03 campaign as well, but he was eventually beaten to the award by Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy. Surprisingly, the Frenchman wasn’t able to lift Arsenal to the Premier League title as Van Nistelrooy’s Red Devils reclaimed their crown.
De Bruyne’s prolific 2019/20 season also resulted in no title as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool ran riot during the Covid-hit campaign. The Belgian currently ranks fifth all-time for Premier League assists with 95, and he has the likes of Frank Lampard (102), Wayne Rooney (103), and Cesc Fabregas (111) in his sights. Ryan Giggs is way out in front with 162.
Will Kevin De Bruyne break the record for most assists in a season?
De Bruyne is going in search of his own joint-record during 2022/23, and you’d be foolish to write off the Belgian claiming the single-season assist record outright given the dynamic he’s struck up with superstar forward Haaland.
The Norwegian is scoring goals for fun and getting into some terrific areas – exactly what De Bruyne needs to see if he’s to build on the promising first couple of months the pair have spent together.
It’s not out of the question that De Bruyne could achieve in excess of 25 assists, with Haaland looking likely to trouble the most goals scored in a single Premier League season record currently held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer – 34 in a 42-game season.
If it’s the 38-game record Haaland is after, he only needs to better the 32 Mohamed Salah scored during 2017/18 for Liverpool.
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