Kevin De Bruyne Overtakes Eric Cantona to Become Premier League Assist King

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has overtaken Manchester United legend Eric Cantona to top the list of players in the Premier League with the best assist-to-game ratio.

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has overtaken Manchester United legend Eric Cantona to top the list of players in the Premier League with the best assist-to-game ratio. The Belgian's enviable ability to produce goalscoring chances at the drop of a hat has seen him usurp the charismatic Frenchman, with 31 assists in 71 matches - an average of 0.44 assists per game.

As reported by the Premier League's official website, De Bruyne now sits above the likes of Cesc Fàbregas, Mesut Ozil, David Beckham and Thierry Henry in the star-studded list of assist masters. The 26-year-old former Chelsea man has been instrumental in his side's blazing start to the Premier League season, which has seen the club win six of their first seven matches.

Best Assists per match in PL history

De Bruyne 0.44
Cantona 0.36
Ozil 0.35
Fabregas 0.34
Silva 0.31
Reyes 0.3
Beckham 0.3
Bergkamp 0.3 pic.twitter.com/WhUb6qd6CC

— Neil Mac (@NeilMac555) October 7, 2017

The role of assist-makers is becoming ever-more high-profile, as those producing the goods for the goal-scorers are finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve. De Bruyne looks set to improve even further under the expert guidance of his boss Pep Guardiola, who seems to have hit the ground running this season after an inconsistent 2016/17 campaign.

Manchester City look set to fight out the title race with Manchester United, as both sides have displayed football far superior to anything being shown consistently by their title rivals. The Citizens could leave their contemporaries trailing in their dust before long, with their next two matches at home to Stoke City and Burnley likely to be routine victories.