Erling Haaland has pulled ahead of Cole Palmer in the hunt for the Premier League golden boot – but what about the players who help create the chances? Where’s the precious metals for their feet?
So, to try and make sure at least some recognition is given where it’s due, we looked at FBRef’s data for the players who have produced the highest expected assists (xA) per 90 minutes (excluding those who have not played sufficient minutes to be considered statistically significant).
That should give us a clearer picture of these creators’ abilities than just assist numbers on their own, as it removes much of the variance that comes from having better or worse finishers on the end of the chances they create.
10. Dwight McNeil (Everton) - 0.28 xA per 90
A slightly surprising start to our countdown, both because Everton have struggled for goals altogether this season and because McNeil himself only ranks joint-34th on the Premier League’s assists rankings.
Those two things are not unrelated, however. Everton are by far – by far – the top flight’s most wasteful side in front of goal this season, missing more than twice as many goals xG says they should have scored (13.1) than the next-worst side (Brentford, with 6.0).
McNeil is doing his part, then, but the players getting on the end of his chances are not. He has been particularly handy on set pieces: only four other players in the division have contributed to more goals with passes from dead balls this season.
9. Brennan Johnson (Tottenham) - 0.30 xA per 90
What’s interesting here is that Johnson only ranks 101st out of all Premier League players for shot-creating actions per game, making him the only one of our top ten for expected assists who ranks outside the top 50 on that score.
Johnson is also one of only two of the ten not to have created a single one of his chances with set-piece passes, and the lowest-ranking of the ten for number of shooting chances created with passes from open play.
Yet here he is – and that speaks of Johnson’s knack for putting himself in the right place at the right times to create high-value chances from open play for Tottenham.
8. Pablo Sarabia (Wolves) - 0.31 xA per 90
Another high ranker for his set piece contributions, the Wolves forward has significantly raised his contribution this season after producing thoroughly underwhelming numbers in his half-season at the club last year. Sometimes it pays to be patient.
Sarabia relies less on dribbling than most of our other entrants, too, with most of his contribution coming with his passing instead.
7. Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) - 0.31 xA per 90
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only Premier League full-back to have provided more shooting chances from open play this season – just not of the kind of ruthlessly consistent quality Trippier has built a career on.
That’s what makes him the only full-back to make this top ten, even at two full two years older than anybody else who has made the cut.
6. Son Heung-min (Tottenham) - 0.31 xA per 90
The other member of the list not to have created a single shooting chance for a teammate from set pieces, alongside Spurs teammate Brennan.
Spurs have needed more out of Son since Harry Kane’s departure last summer, and they have got it, having both his second-best season for the club in terms of both goals per 90 minutes and assists per 90 minutes.
Shame about what’s going on at the other end of the pitch then, eh?
5. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) - 0.32 xA per 90
A similar story to Son, with his combination of goals and assists more than making up for the lack of a prolific out-and-out striker.
Saka is also one of the most well-rounded players in the division when it comes to how he creates his chances: open play passes, dead balls, dribbles, shots…the Arsenal youngster does it all.
4. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - 0.34 xA per 90
No surprises here. Martin Odegaard is the only Premier League player to have helped his side get off shots by playing passes from open play, while Fernandes also ranks in the top five Premier League players for making shots for other from dead balls.
The trick for Manchester United, as ever, is finding a way to break their continued over-reliance on the Portuguese playmaker.
3. Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) - 0.36 xA per 90
Bailey owes his high ranking to being the most consistently selfless player in this top ten, looking for the pass rather than the shot far more often than his rivals.
Despite that, Bailey actually has more goals (10) than assists (9) this season – and in terms of the raw number of chances he helps create, he ranks far, far down the list from the rest of the top five.
Both sides of the equation are reflective of Bailey’s decision making and the sheer quality with which he can hit a football consistently.
2. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) - 0.36 xA per 90
Enough has been written about Palmer this season that you know it all by now – but this side of his game nonetheless gets a bit overlooked compared with his goalscoring output.
There is way more to Palmer than just hitting the back of the net. No other Premier League player has contributed to more goals with passes from open play, while only three others – all of them deeper-lying midfielders – have played a part in more of their team’s shots through their defensive contribution.
He’s good, isn’t he?
1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 0.44 xAGper 90
Surprised? We were, a bit – or at least, we were surprised by just how far ahead of the rest of the pack Salah is.
Not to denigrate the forward, but we can’t help but wonder how much of it is by accident. His numbers across the board are more than respectable compared with the rest of the top ten, but what gives him the most significant edge is that nobody else in the Premier League has helped create more goals for teammates by…shooting and not scoring.
Two of the next three players on the list also play for Liverpool, by the way (Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, as if you have to ask). Does that say good things about the way Liverpool position themselves for rebounds, or bad things about their finishing ability? Maybe a little of both.
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