Top assist providers in 2023: Mo Salah leaves Fernandes stranded to crack the top 10 | OneFootball

Bruno Fernandes and Mo Salah: Assisters are doing it for themselves

Mo Salah is in the top 10 assist providers in Europe this calendar year, with Bruno Fernandes on the brink and Bukayo Saka only out on a technicality.

Kevin De Bruyne beat Lionel Messi to the crown in 2022, with Thomas Muller and Messi prevailing in the years before to underline the calibre of player that tends to win this particular race. Hakim Ziyech did it in 2019 and then Chelsea signed him and it all went wrong.

The criteria: All club assists in all competitions for clubs in Europe’s top 10 leagues.

These lads would relish setting up the top goalscorers of 2023.

10) Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City (17 assists in 29 games) Every player in Europe’s top 10 leagues with 14 or more assists in all competitions 2023 have played at least 43 games. Every player bar one, that is. De Bruyne been sidelined since halfway through the Champions League final but is keeping his head above water after 29 appearances.

9) Xavi Simons – PSV/RB Leipzig (19 assists in 48 games) Ten already this season for RB Leipzig, who are very much enjoying the loan spell of the Dutchman.

8) Pedro Goncalves – Sporting (18 assists in 47 games) Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes has been left in the dust with his risible 16 assists in 58 games, beaten by Goncalves in 47 appearances. No wonder Tottenham were reportedly interested.

7) Johan Bakayoko – PSV (18 assists in 46 games) A few Premier League sides hoped Bakayoko would attempt to transpose this stellar record to England, with Brentford even having a club-record bid rejected for a player thought to have interested Liverpool. The Belgian stayed on in Eindhoven and has assisted seven goals in his last nine Eredivisie games.

6) Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen (18 assists in 46 games) Another cog in the Alonso machine, Wirtz has been linked with Liverpool for a reason. Ten assists in 18 games this season include three in one game against Qarabag. Not bad at all considering he was out for most of 2022 with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

5) Dusan Tadic – Ajax/Fenerbahce (19 assists in 53 games) Erik ten Hag signed the wrong Eredivisie alumni. Tadic was on the market as a free agent for a couple of days in July, calling time on a productive half-decade with Ajax just before they became really bad. Fenerbahce swooped in and the 35-year-old has helped them top the Turkish Super Lig table with Europa Conference League group progression hanging in the balance.

4) Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid (19 assists in 44 games) It has actually been a pretty slow season for Vinicius on the assist front – four in 13 appearances – but that only emphasises how brilliant his start to the year was. The Brazilian laid on one goal in each leg of last campaign’s Champions League last-16 and quarter-final ties against Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, while shining in La Liga and setting up a Copa del Rey final goal after providing two assists to beat Barcelona in a semi-final trouncing. But this might well be it for Vinicius, who is on the sidelines with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty.

3) Mo Salah – Liverpool (19 assists in 49 games) It is hardly worth thinking about what carnage Salah would have caused in Saudi had either he or Liverpool been sufficiently tempted by those riches. The Egyptian stayed to spearhead another apparent title challenge and has only failed to score or assist a goal in three of 16 Premier League games.

2) Kerem Akturkoglu – Galatasaray (20 assists in 46 games) Not important enough to command Rio Ferdinand’s full attention while scoring the goal which leaves Manchester United’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, Akturkoglu has been marginally more productive in terms of assists. One each in five consecutive league games from mid-August to late September helped; a similar purple patch at the back end of last campaign included three in 50 minutes – all for different players – against Ankaragucu.

1) Joey Veerman – PSV (21 assists in 50 games) Two of those assists helped put Rangers out of Champions League qualifying, with nine more contributing to PSV’s perfect run through 15 Eredivisie games. The midfielder only made his Netherlands debut in June and is quietly putting together a sterling season.