Kevin De Bruyne should make every list of great Premier League players. For the class of 2019/20, the top spot belongs to him.
While some in red on Merseyside may have something to say about that claim, the Belgian has a strong case with exhibits A, B and C on show already this season.
From stunning moments of brilliance and breathtaking ability to his huge influence and eye for that killer pass, the Manchester City playmaker is the main man of the modern era.
Strutting his stuff at the Etihad, De Bruyne is the creative hub in Pep’s star-studded team and while you’ve already seen it with your own eyes, the stats prove it too.
The Belgian is on the verge of reaching 50 Premier League assists in a faster time than anyone else.
Quicker than Giggs, Fabregas and Bergkamp. Faster too, than Lampard, Rooney and team-mate David Silva.
To break the record, De Bruyne has 18 matches to beat Mesut Ozil’s tally of 50 assists in his first 141 Premier League appearances for Arsenal.
Having already set up three goals in just two matches this season, it surely won’t take him long.
It's that man again! Kevin De Bruyne whips a beautiful first-time ball in to the back post and Raheem Sterling nods it home.
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While it certainly helps when players such as Sergio Agüero is on the end of the chances you create, the time in which De Bruyne has amassed the tally is astonishing.
“I always like to assist more than scoring: it gives me another feeling; I cannot explain it,” he once admitted. He must be over the moon, then.
The man, who is affectionately known as ‘the Ginger Pele’ amongst the City faithful, has the best assists-per-game rate in the league ever, averaging 0.4 per-match, edging out Eric Cantona’s 0.36, and Cesc Fabregas’ ratio of 0.32.
De Bruyne is also in the top 25 in the division’s history, with regards to goal involvement-per-game, and he has the second-highest goal involvements-per game-out of any central midfielder in Premier League history.
KDB was limited to just 19 appearances last season after ligament, thigh and hamstring injuries curtailed his campaign and strangled his impact. However, he’s back and looking determined to help City emulate their stunning 100 and 98 point returns.
A true creative on the football field, capable of moulding the most mind-blowing moves as he marauds across the pitch, Kevin De Bruyne is the name on most lips when the ‘Premier League’s Best Player’ debate sweeps back around.
Compared to David Beckham and Steven Gerrard by Sky Sports pundit and Man United icon Gary Neville after his display against Tottenham Hotspur, his ability to whip a ball in from any angle is staggering; from any point, he can boom a pass behind the defence into a striker’s path with frankly frightening accuracy.
Controlling games at a canter, the midfield magician seems always available, always in space, always ready to receive the ball and spray it into another City assault on goal.
We’ll let Pep Guardiola sum up.
“Kevin is one of the best players I have ever seen in my life, in terms of how he can make absolutely everything, everything. He is a top, top-quality player.”
