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World class strikers have always been in high demand, especially in highly competitive leagues like the Premier League. From grabbing all the headlines to being on the highest wage, strikers have always arguably been the most important players in any team.
Though these forwards might be scoring all the goals and hogging the glory, some of them have proved that they are equally skilled at providing goals. In the three decades (almost) since the Premier League era began, there have been some strikers who have provided their fair share of assists.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at the 5 strikers who have raked up the highest number of assists in the Premier League till date.
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5. Andy Cole - 73 assists
Of all the great goalscorers to have played for Manchester United, one of the players who often gets overlooked is Andrew Cole, the goal-machine from the fledgling days of the Premier League era.
His goal-scoring exploits are well-known. 187 goals are a testament to his finishing abilities, but a lesser-known fact that makes him even a better player is the fact that he also bagged 73 assists in the same period.
The journeyman played for seven different clubs in the Premier League and recorded a stunning total of 73 assists for Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Portsmouth.
The Englishman won the Premier League Golden Boot in the 1993-94 campaign, when he scored a record 34 goals. He had a very successful career, winning multiple trophies with the Red Devils, with the 1999 treble being the highlight.
4. Thierry Henry - 74 assists
Often considered to be the greatest player of the Premier League era, Thierry Henry was a complete package, and a dream of a player for his teammates and coaches.
He holds the record for the most assists provided in a single Premier League season, with a staggering 20 assists in the 2002-03 season for Arsenal. Remarkably, the Frenchman also scored 24 league goals that season.
The French footballing icon boasts of 75 assists, all of them coming for the Gunners across two spells, though his second spell lasted just four games in the top-flight.
Apart from his impressive assist record for a striker, he also has a record four Golden Boot awards to his name. Despite all his excellent performances- in the Premier League with Arsenal, with Barcelona in Spain, and for his national team France- he remains one of the top players to never have won the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
3. Teddy Sheringham - 76 assists
Another Manchester United great features on our list, and his name is Teddy Sheringham. Sheringham was brought to Old Trafford in the summer of 1997 to fill the shoes of the departing Eric Cantona. Despite a slow start, Sheringham proved to be up to the massive task.
Having not won anything major in his career before 1998-99, Sheringham won the entire spectrum of top trophies- the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup- in that campaign, and registered himself in the history books.
He showed his capabilities in the famous Champions League comeback against Bayern Munich. Sheringham not only scored the equaliser in injury time, but just two minutes later turned provider for current Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's last gasp winning goal. He pulled off this memorable performance despite being 33 years of age that day.
In all, he racked up 76 assists in his top-flight career to add to his tally of 146 goals. Interestingly, he also has some very unique Premier League records to his name. He is the oldest goalscorer in the competition's history, while he was also the first person to win the Premier League Golden Boot award.
2. Dennis Bergkamp - 94 assists
Arsenal have had a lot of iconic players in their ranks over the past two or three decades. Though we will always remember Thierry Henry when talking about Arsene Wenger's formidable squad from the early 2000s, Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp was a player in a class of his own.
He started as a wide midfielder and gradually made the transition to a second striker role, which brought out the best in what he had to offer. Bergkamp wasn't necessarily a prolific goalscorer, but he immersed himself in the buildup play.
Despite starting in the role of a striker for the Gunners, he recorded assists on more occasions than finding the back of the net in the Premier League, which makes it clear how he loved to operate.
He fell just short of a century of assists, having set up 94 of his teammates' goals, but left a long-lasting legacy, and a generation of play-makers grew up idolising him.
1. Wayne Rooney - 103 assists
Not surprisingly, the player at the top of this list is one of the Premier League's best strikers ever in Wayne Rooney. Rooney is the player with the second-highest number of goals in the league and the third-highest assists.
He is only the second player to breach the 200-goal mark in English top-flight, and the only striker to have reached a century of assists, a record that might not be broken anytime soon.
The highly-decorated player spent 16 seasons in the Premier League, which included two stints with his boyhood club Everton and a highly successful spell with Manchester United. After a season in the MLS, he is back in English football, albeit in the second tier with Derby County.
Interestingly, he was never crowned the top goalscorer in the league, even though he scored more than 25 league goals on two different occasions.
Also See: 5 Premier League players with most assists in a single season
