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The Premier League is known to be one of the most exciting leagues in the world. It is also highly competitive, which means scoring goals and registering assists is not quite easy.
However, there have been some talents who have won the Golden Boot and finished with the most assists in a season.
We take a look at five players who defied all odds by winning the Golden Boot and as well as finishing with the most assists in a PL season.
#5 Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba is considered one of the greatest Africans to play in the English top-flight and is the first African to score 100 Premier League goals.
The Ivorian joined Chelsea in the summer of 2004 from Marseille. Drogba started off quite well but a stomach injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Drogba's contributions helped Chelsea secure their first Premier League title.
The following season, Drogba topped the category for the highest number of assists (11) in the league, which played an integral part in Chelsea's title defense. Drogba became the Golden Boot recipient in the 2006-07 season, where he netted 20 Premier League goals.
Three seasons later, he was once again a Golden Boot winner in the 2009-10 season, winning the award as the Blues won the league title.
#4 Harry Kane
One of England's best players of all time, Harry Kane, is among the few Premier League players to top the list of goals and assists in the same season.
He accomplished that feat in the 2020-21 season, having scored 23 goals and providing 14 assists.
However, this was not the first time Kane had won the Golden Boot. He has previously won it twice consecutively in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
In the former, he scored 25 goals in 38 matches while in the latter, he scored an incredible 29 goals in 30 matches.
#3 Robin Van Persie
Robin van Persie is one of the few Premier League players to win the Golden Boot with two different clubs. His goal-scoring prowess made him one of the greatest strikers of his generation in the English top flight.
Van Persie started out as a left-winger but in time became a pure striker. The season before he became a striker, the Dutchman was the Gunners' leading playmaker with 11 assists.
In his final season (2011-12) with the Gunners, van Persie netted 30 goals which won him the Golden Boot, PFA Player of the Year, and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
The following season, van Persie defended his Golden Boot status as a Red Devil, scoring 26 goals. He also won the Premier League title with United in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season at the club.
#2 Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and is by far one of the best players to grace the Premier League.
The Frenchman holds the record for the most Golden Boot wins, which is four. He won his first Golden Boot in the 2001-02 season, having scored 23 goals while also winning the EPL title.
He almost defended his Golden Boot the following season but was edged by Ruud van Nistelrooy by a goal. However, Henry's 24 goals and 20 assists make him the only EPL player to garner 20 assists in a single season. He is also the first player to have at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a season.
Henry led 'The Invicibles' to the EPL title and won the Golden Boot, which was the beginning of his three-peat (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06) where he scored 30 goals, 25 goals and 27 goals.
He is the first EPL player to score at least 20 goals for five consecutive seasons.
#1 Andy Cole
Andy Cole is one of the greatest Premier League players of all time. With 187 goals to his name, he is ranked third on the Premier League all-time goal scorer list.
Cole has played for quite a handful of clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, and Fulham.
He has the honor of being the first EPL player to finish with the highest number of goals and assists — 34 goals and 13 assists — in the same season. Cole achieved this feat in the 1993-94 season when he played for Newcastle United.
The performance earned him the Golden Boot and PFA Young Player of the Year. Cole later joined Manchester United where he would go on to win five Premier League titles.
