Every football team yearns for a creative genius to unlock defences, to beat offside traps, to take out 2-3 players in one go and to chip in with a goal every now and then. The traditional role of a pure playmaker is to roam ahead of the central midfield and behind the attack.
The creators-in-chief generally have various techniques to set up goals, which include corner kicks, set pieces, through balls, crosses and even laying it on a plate for a tap-in. Different players have different combinations of the above qualities and only the top players can combine them all.
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On that note, here are seven creative forces driving their teams and standing at the top of the assists table (data taken from Whoscored.com).
#7 Christian Eriksen
Club – Tottenham Hotspur
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 236
The first entry on the list, Christian Eriksen has been playing third fiddle to Harry Kane and Dele Alli at Tottenham this season. However, the contribution of the Dane to the London club’s rise to the 2nd position in the Premier League cannot be questioned.
The primary creative hub for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, Eriksen has laid 10 assists and also scored six goals this season.
One of his best performances this season came against Chelsea at White Hart Lane in January where he delivered two superb crosses for Alli to head home, clinching a superb win to break Chelsea's 13-match winning streak. He can be expected to notch up a few more assists in the next couple of months and move closer to the top spot come May.
#6 Kevin De Bruyne
Club – Manchester City
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 209.4
The Belgian playmaker has had praise heaped on him by manager Pep Guardiola who said, “Messi is on a table on his own. No-one else is allowed. But the table beside, Kevin can sit there.”
The talent of De Bruyne has been on display ever since Jose Mourinho decided to offload him to Wolfsburg during the Portuguese’s second stint at Chelsea. The Belgian showed his class at the German club before Manchester City snapped him up and the 25-year-old has been pulling the strings alongside David Silva at the Manchester club.
This season, he has racked up an impressive 10 assists so far and has put in top notch displays against Manchester United, Barcelona and Liverpool. His ability to create chances from any situation, coupled with his scoring ability – having scored four goals – make him a complete package for Guardiola and he is only going to get better under the Spanish coach who has a penchant for taking attacking players to great heights.
#5 Neymar
Club – FC Barcelona
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 204.7
There has been a lot of talk about the drop in Neymar’s goal tally this season and it has been used to incorrectly point out a dip in his quality and performances. However, as the recent history-making comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 showed – where Neymar scored twice, assisted the final goal and won a penalty – he is, in fact, the best player in the world at the moment.
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Although his goal tally has suffered, the creative genius in him has gotten even better this season as he has created a number of chances for his team-mates only for them to be wasted.
With 10 assists and eight goals this season, Neymar might seem to be doing injustice to his incredible talent but his recent form for Barcelona and Brazil shows that he is going to play a vital role in Luis Enrique’s final hurrah at the Catalan club.
#4 Toni Kroos
Club – Real Madrid
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 188.5
A player that oozes class every time he steps onto the pitch, Toni Kroos is a constant fixture in the outrageously talented Real Madrid side that boasts the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
His passing ability is second to none in Europe and his creating ability is a boon for the Spanish club who are in the hunt for the La Liga and Champions League crown.
The German has picked up 10 assists and as per Squawka, he has already made more key passes and created more chances than last season. At 27 years of age, playing for one of the best clubs in the world, Kroos is getting better and can be expected to finish the season on a high by topping the assists chart.
#3 Thomas Muller
Club – Bayern Munich
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 170.2
Another player akin to Neymar in having surprising numbers in the goalscoring department is Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller. Having scored 20 goals in the league last season, he has mustered only two so far this season. However, he has made up for the goal drought to an extent by picking up 10 assists already compared to last season’s 5 in total.
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His creative role has definitely benefitted Bayern’s star striker Robert Lewandowski, who is in the form of his life at the Bavarian club. While the German’s form is definitely a worry for Carlo Ancelotti, his goalscoring history and the famous surname suggest it is only a matter of time before he finds the net consistently again.
#2 Emil Forsberg
Club – RB Leipzig
Number of assists – 10
Minutes per assist – 157.5
Forsberg is not a very surprising entry given Leipzig’s early season form that saw them lead the Bundesliga table for three matchdays. The 25-year-old from the land that produced Zlatan Ibrahimovic is having a fine season at the German club with 10 assists so far.
The Swede has helped his team with seven goals as well, showcasing his ability as a forward, and has propelled Leipzig to second place, ahead of Borussia Dortmund. If he continues this form till the end of the season, he stands a chance of making a move to a high-profile club in Europe in the summer.
#1 Gylfi Sigurdsson
Club – Swansea
Number of assists – 11
Minutes per assist – 229
A definite surprise for everyone and the only player who is in a relegation-threatened team on the list, the “Iceman” Sigurdsson is the assists leader in Europe’s top 5 leagues with 11 assists for Welsh club Swansea. Sigurdsson is the main source of creativity as Paul Clement’s side sit three points above Hull City who are in 18th place.
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Further, the Icelander has notched up eight goals as well to aid his side’s cause and has been one of the in-form midfielders in Europe in 2017. A previous failed stint at Tottenham notwithstanding, Sigurdsson has been a consistent menace in the Premier League with his vision, set-piece delivery and penchant for scoring important goals.
If his form continues, he could very well be the assist leader for the season, not just in the Premier League, but also Europe, and could transfer to a bigger club in the summer.
