List of best assist providers in 2024 has us asking: why the f*** Ruben Amorim is leaving Sporting?
Kevin de Bruyne is the only Premier League name on a list of Europe’s premier assist providers in 2024, but he has finally been knocked off top spot.
De Bruyne is on course to reclaim the crown he won for Manchester City in 2022, which Joey Veerman stole for PSV in 2023.
The criteria: All club assists in all competitions for teams in Europe’s top 10 leagues.
10) Alex Baena (Villarreal) – 15 assists
Few players have been quite as influential in Villarreal’s recent excellent run of form and academy product Baena has been good enough for La Liga’s surprise title challengers to crack into Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 squad.
9) Omar Marmoush (Frankfurt) – 15 assists
Nottingham Forest made a bid for the 25-year-old this summer but instead of warming the bench as back-up to Chris Wood, Marmoush stayed to add Arsenal and Liverpool to his potential suitors by continuing his fine form.
8) Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting) – 16 assists
The runaway top scorer of 2024 has established himself as a remarkable creative force too for this wonderful Sporting side.
7) Trincao (Sporting) – 16 assists
One assist is all Trincao managed in 30 appearances for Wolves – setting up Jonny Otto in an eventual defeat to Leeds – but he is on fire for one of Europe’s form teams.
6) Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – 16 assists
It will be interesting to see how long this Ballon d’Or boycott lasts, and indeed if Vinicius remains one of the favourites for the 2025 award.
5) Pedro Goncalves (Sporting) – 16 assists
The natural successor to Bruno Fernandes always features prominently when assessing the chief continental chance creators. He might pick his next career move a bit more wisely. In the Portuguese league alone he has registered double figures for goals and assists in the past two seasons and is on course to complete that hat-trick with four and three respectively in 2024/25.
Why is Ruben Amorim leaving for Manchester United again? Weirdo.
4) Raphinha (Barcelona) – 16 assists
Things have not been simple for the Brazil forward since he left the comfort of Leeds but the occasional Barcelona captain has risen to the role and has become one of the best players in Europe currently.
3) Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen) – 17 assists
One of the most important cogs in the Xabi Alonso machine, Grimaldo cost nothing in the summer of 2023 after his Benfica contract expired but he is worth an awful lot to the Bundesliga champions now. The left-back has embraced the Leverkusen heritage admirably, assisting stoppage-time goals against Augsburg, Leipzig, Qarabag and Patrik Schick’s late equaliser in the DFB-Pokal final against Stuttgart.
2) Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) – 18 assists
There is the slight added benefit of playing behind a robot who has converted half of those assists – De Bruyne laid Haaland on four times in one FA Cup rout of Luton in February – but the Belgian has also set up Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol twice in 2024, as well as Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Oscar Bobb, Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku just the once.
And this is De Bruyne pretty much slowing down due to age, injury and being perennially internationally grumpy.
1) Dries Mertens (Galatasaray) – 21 assists
Having earned his Turkish Super Lig twilight years, Mertens is no doubt enjoying himself. Ten of those assists were recorded across an eight-game period between early March and mid-May, helping propel Galatasaray to a remarkable title win. Many more have inspired a phenomenal unbeaten start to their defence. Two came against Spurs in the Europa.
