In Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Bruno Fernandes took himself to 16 assists in the Premier League this season. But how close is that to the seasonal record?
Bruno Fernandes moved to within four of the all-time Premier League seasonal assists record after creating two goals in Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Setting up Casemiro and Matheus Cunha saw the Portuguese midfielder move on to 16 assists in the 2025-26 league campaign, putting the all-time Premier League record for a single season into reach.
That record is shared by Thierry Henry (Arsenal in 2002-03) and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City in 2019-20), who both assisted 20 goals for their teammates.
Most Assists in a Premier League Season
Fernandes now has eight games to tally the four assists needed to match the seasonal record, but he could even surpass that should he register five more in 2025-26.
Interestingly, the only two players to have exceeded Fernandes’ current tally after 30 games eventually failed in their quests to match Henry and De Bruyne.
Mesut Özil had 18 assists for Arsenal after 30 games in 2015-16 but only registered one more in their final eight matches of the campaign. Mohamed Salah had 17 at the same point of the 2024-25 season before also getting just one more in their last eight matches.
Most Premier League assists in a season race chart
Ithiel Piñero / Data Analyst
Fernandes’ form this season, or perhaps more specifically since October, has arguably represented his most influential period as a creative force at United.
Remarkably, none of Fernandes’ assists came in his first seven Premier League appearances of the season, with all 16 coming in his 20 appearances since the October international break.
One record Fernandes has already broken, however, is for the most assists in a single Premier League season for Manchester United.
With his two in the victory over Villa, he moved past David Beckham’s previous club record of 15 assists in 1999-00, also accelerating past compatriot Nani’s effort (14) in 2010-11.
Man Utd Assists - Premier League Single Season
Fernandes not only leads the Premier League assists charts in 2025-26, but he has also created more chances than any other player in the competition (98) – 40 more than anybody else – and has the highest expected assists (xA) tally with 8.8.
The 2025-26 season is, in many respects, simply the latest chapter in a remarkable body of work.
Since arriving at Manchester United from Sporting CP in 2020 and making his Premier League debut on 1 February 2020, Fernandes has created over 200 chances more than any other player in the competition (636), while only Mohamed Salah (68) has assisted more goals than he has (67).
Discounting 2019-20, when Fernandes only played the final months of the campaign for United, he has been the Premier League’s leading creator in four of his five full seasons at the club, with 2025-26 set to be the latest in which he’s dominated the chance creation rankings.
Premier League Stats Opta
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