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The Premier League has always been home to the best players in the world, thanks to its high-intensity games and enthralling action-packed matches.
The English top-flight witnesses goals galore, especially because it has featured some of the best strikers in the world over the years. It is also worth noting that it has also had some of the best creators in world football showcase their talents game-after-game.
Finding the right pass in the final third of the pitch or playing an inch-perfect cross from a set-piece is often as important as scoring a goal. Moreover, with defenders becoming cleverer throughout the last three decades, the onus has been on attackers to create for their sides.
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However, only a few have mastered the art of providing assists in the Premier League almost instantly after joining their respective new clubs.
On that note, let's take a look at the five players who took the fewest games to provide 10 Premier League assists.
#5 Eric Cantona (22 games)
Eric Cantona was one of the best strikers Manchester United have had in the Premier League era. The Frenchman, who joined them in the winter transfer window of 1992 from Leeds United, was a special talent at the time.
His performances at the start of the 1992-93 campaign caught the eye of quite a few people. He bagged six goals and four assists in just 13 league appearances for Leeds United.
He bettered his tally in the second half of the campaign as he scored nine times and assisted six more times in just 22 league games.
This included Cantona providing his first 10 Premier League assists in just 22 appearances, which was quite a feat at the time.
The striker retired from the game in 1997 as he registered 81 goals and 62 assists in 181 Premier League appearances.
#4 Dejan Kulusevski (22 games)
Dejan Kulusevski is the most recent player to join this list. He provided his 10th Premier League assist in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest on August 28.
The Swedish ace has been at the top of his game since joining Spurs from Juventus on an 18-month loan deal earlier this year in January.
He played a crucial role in helping the north London club seal a top-four finish last season in the Premier League. He scored five goals and eight assists in just 18 league appearances.
His crossing ability, coupled with Harry Kane & Son Heung-Min's clinical finishing abilities, has led to Kulusevski registering 10 assists in his first 22 Premier League games.
One of the most effective players on the final third of the pitch, he will be aiming to have a productive first full season in the Premier League this term.
#3 Bruno Fernandes (21 games)
Bruno Fernandes has been slightly out of form over the last 12 months or so but few will debate his quality when the going gets tough.
The Portugal international, who recently scored his 50th goal for Manchester United, also has 39 assists to his name already. Out of these 39, 24 have come in the Premier League, with 10 of them coming in the first 21 games itself.
This was only possible as Fernandes hit the ground running after joining the club from Sporting CP in January 2020 for £68 million (including add-ons).
He scored eight times and provided seven assists in 14 games in the second half of the 2019-20 season. He hit double digits in his assist figures in November 2020 in the 3-1 victory against Everton at Goodison Park.
An immaculate creator and goal-scorer on his day, Fernandes is bound to provide many more assists for Manchester United in the years to come.
#2 Kevin de Bruyne (21 games)
This list was going to be incomplete without Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian, alongside Mohamed Salah, has arguably been the best player in the Premier League over the last five seasons.
The Belgian has been unbelievably good for Manchester City since making the switch from Wolfsburg in 2015 for a then-club-record fee of £55 million. Since then, he has banged in 58 goals and provided 89 assists in 211 Premier League appearances for the Citizens.
However, he took 21 games to register his first 10 assists, with his first assist in the English top-flight coming for Chelsea in the 2013-14 campaign. His remaining nine assists came in just 18 games for Manchester City in the first half of the 2015-16 campaign.
What has followed since has been something out of the world as De Bruyne has helped the club win four out of their last five league titles.
One of the best in the business, De Bruyne will likely increase his assist tally in the years to come. Now, he also has Erling Haaland in front of him to score the goals.
#1 Brett Emerton (19 games)
Brett Emerton is probably not the person one would have expected to be at the top of this list, but Blackburn Rovers fans will certainly have fond memories of him.
The Australia international joined the Riversiders in 2003 from Eridivisie side Feyenoord.
During his eight seasons at the club, the versatile central midfielder scored 13 goals and provided 26 assists in 247 league games. His first 10 assists came in just 19 games in his first season, including on his debut in a 5-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Emerton also managed to provide two assists in a single game on two occasions. They came against Middlesbrough and in the return fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively. The midfielder left the club after Blackburn were relegated to the Championship in 2011.
Regardless, Emerton was quite the make-shift midfielder during his time in the Premier League and the Australian will be proud of this record.
