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A new season of Premier League football is upon us, and one of the many things this signifies is that there would be a lot of goals scored over the next nine months or thereabout.
Few, if anything gives football fans as much joy as seeing their beloved club put the ball in the back of the net, and when this happens, there is usually an uncontrollable outpour of emotion, leading to shouts of joy and fist pumps in the air.
Strikers are primarily responsible for putting the ball in the back of the net, and they are the ones who do so more often than not, and since goals are the essence of every game, it comes as no surprise that those who score them are placed on a higher pedestal, with strikers largely getting paid more, winning most of the individual accolades and prestige modern football has to offer.
However, while scoring a goal is glorified, it is pertinent to note that a lot of effort is usually put into getting that end product, whether it is a team goal by Manchester City where every player touches the ball, or an exquisite defense splitting pass by Lionel Messi that was finished off by a teammate.
Playmakers are largely the ones in charge of creating goals, as they possess an uncanny ability to see spaces and opportunities that no one else does.
They are artists; with the entire field serving as their canvas to design on as they deem fit, gliding around the field majestically and playing in teammates with delicate and pin-point passes measured with Eagle-eyed accuracy and this slideshow shall be celebrating the best of them.
With the 2019/2020 Premier League season upon us, we shall be having a rundown of the top 10 playmakers who would be on display in the league over the next nine months.
Honorable mentions - Roberto Pereyra (Watford), Pablo Fornals (West Ham), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
#10 Juan Mata (Manchester United)
A few years ago, Juan Mata would have found himself much higher up this list, but the Spanish international has seen his stock decline since swapping Chelsea for Manchester United in 2014.
The 31-year-old arrived the Premier League in the summer of 2011 when he signed for Chelsea from Valencia and immediately proved his worth to the West Londoners, being named Chelsea Player of the Year consecutively in his first two seasons with the club.
With 10 major honors won, Juan Mata has lifted almost every trophy available at both club and international level, and has earned widespread admiration from even rival fans due to his professional conduct both on and off the field.
Mata has made 243 Premier League appearances across his two spells with Chelsea and Manchester United, scoring 51 goals and creating 50 assists for a goal involvement ratio of 0.4 goals per game which is not bad, while the 65 big chances created and 85 through balls in his Premier League career are indicative of his attacking impetus.
#9 Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Jack Grealish is an Aston Villa man through and through, having joined the club's academy in 2001 aged just six, and progressed through the ranks, making his senior bow in 2014.
After a successful one year loan spell with Notts County, Grealish returned to Villa ahead of the 2014/2015 season, and established himself in the Premier League over the next two seasons before his club's relegation in 2016.
Having tried to gain back promotion unsuccessfully for two seasons, Grealish was one of the stars last season as Aston Villa regained promotion through the playoff, making 31 appearances and scoring and assisting six each, while also captaining the side during the home-run period of the season and was for his efforts named into the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
His form did not go unnoticed, and Tottenham launched an ultimately unsuccessful bid for his services, but the boyhood Aston Villa fan would put that behind him to lead the charge in Aston Villa's quest to retain their Premier League status.
He also caused a major stir at international level,as having represented Ireland at youth level, Grealish made a U-turn and decided to represent England at senior level which was a decision that did not augur well with a lot of fans.
The 25-year-old is noted for his precise passing and ability to dribble past players and having departed the Premier League as a boy during his last stint, Grealish has returned a man with his full powers, ready to showcase his abilities at the highest level.
#8 Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth blew everyone away with their spectacular start to last season, and 25-year-old Ryan Fraser played a huge role in making that happen.
The Scottish international was deployed as the creative force of Eddie Howe's vibrant and energetic side, and it was a role Fraser thrived in, providing the creativity for forwards like Callum Wilson and Josh King to thrive off.
In total, he scored seven goals and had 14 assists from 38 Premier League games last term, and was second to only Eden Hazard on the assists charts last season, while assisting more times than renowned players across Europe including Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and even the great Lionel Messi.
His form last season saw him linked with a move to Arsenal, but with nothing coming out of those speculations, Eddie Howe would be expecting more of the same from his playmaker this season.
#7 James Maddison (Leicester City)
After starring for Norwich City in the 2017/2018 season which saw him named Norwich City Player of the Year as well as voted into the Championship Team of the Year, James Maddison was signed by Leicester City in the summer of 2018 for a fee believed to be in the region of £20m.
The 22-year-old starred, making 36 league appearances, scoring seven and assisting seven goals each over the course of last season.
His form saw him called up to the senior side of England for Nations League matches in October, and although he did not make his debut, he was also included in the England squad for the EURO Under 21 Championship held over the summer.
Maddison poses a decent threat on set-pieces, while also possessing considerable passing ability and during the course of the transfer window saw his name linked with a number of transfers including to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Given Leicester's considerable splurge in the transfer market, the Foxes would be confident of having an outside chance to gatecrash the hallowed 'big six' and if that is to happen, their number 8 would have a huge role to play.
#6 David Silva (Manchester City)
It almost seems like a travesty ranking David Silva this low on a playmaker list, as the man nicknamed 'the little magician' has been nothing short of phenomenal throughout his career.
However, a number of factors including personal family grief and age have taken a toll on Silva's performances in recent years, but nevertheless, the ex-Spanish international can still hold his own anywhere on the planet despite being 33 years old.
Silva was one of the pioneers of the City revolution, arriving Manchester in 2010, and he has played his way into being considered one of the greatest players to ever play for Manchester City and in concordance one of the greatest to ever grace the Premier League.
The former Valencia man has played a huge role in all of the successes enjoyed by Manchester City in the last decade, while also being integral to the sustained dominance of Spain at international level during her golden period.
As far as playmakers go, few throughout history can claim to have been as blessed as the Arguineguin native, as Silva possessed the gift of effortlessly sliding around the field, making even the most difficult of passes and feint dribbles seem as easy as slicing a knife through butter.
In 282 Premier League appearances, Silva has scored 54 goals and assisted 83 times which is a staggering goal involvement ratio to say the least.
He has seen his playmaking responsibilities at Manchester City reduce in recent times due to the presence of some equally gifted teammates (two of whom still appear on this list), but Silva still has a huge role to play in Pep Guardiola's near invisible army.
He recently announced that this season would be his last with Manchester City, and after a decade of optimum output, David Silva would depart the land of the Thames as a bonafide Premier League legend.
#5 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
Mesut Ozil finds himself ranking this high owing to what he did in the past and what we all know he is capable of still doing, rather than what he has done in recent years.
Mesut Ozil signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2013 for a club record fee, arriving with the reputation of being arguably the best playmaker in the world at the time, and his performances in the first few years of his Arsenal career went some way in justifying the huge amount expended to get him.
The former Real Madrid player sparked into life during the course of the 2015/2016 season, and looked primed to break Thierry Henry's long-standing record of 21 for most assists in a single Premier League season, but even though Ozil fell short, his total of 19 was still impressive enough.
However, since then, the ex-German international has fallen off the radar, contributing next to nothing to the Arsenal cause and giving off the attitude of someone who is disinterested in the club despite being one of the best paid players in the league.
Nevertheless, one his day, Mesut Ozil is easily one of the best passers of the ball, possessing a vision that few in the world can match, and having the ability to thread through balls effortlessly into spaces no one else can see.
His all-time Premier League record of 52 assists and 32 goals from 166 Premier League appearances is indicative of his pristine abilities, and this is also backed up by the 199 through balls and 64 big chances he has created in the same timeframe.
Having been linked with a move away from the Emirates, Ozil made it explicitly clear that he was going nowhere and indeed returned to training earlier than others in a bid to force his way back into Emery's reckoning.
Mesut Ozil impressed during preseason, and with the dream forward line of Aubameyang, Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe in front of him, the coming season could yet see Ozil deliver on the levels we know he is capable of.
#4 Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
Gylfi Sigurdsson is arguably the best player in the Premier League playing outside of a top six club, and despite not cementing a regular place in two seasons with Tottenham, the Icelandic international is more than capable of holding his own in a Champions League team.
Sigurdsson would be the driving force behind Everton's quest for a European spot this season, and having starred with 13 goals and six assists last season, head coach Marco Silva would be expecting more of the same from the 29-year-old.
The former Swansea man is a extremely dangerous from setpieces, while also possessing considerable passing abilities and is a more than potent goal threat evidenced by the 59 goals he has scored from 247 Premier League appearances.
In the same time, Sigurdsson has managed 42 assists, while also creating 63 big chances and threading 92 through balls for his teammates.
#3 Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
In what was a spectacular campaign on an individual level for Bernardo Siva, the former Monaco man took advantage of the opportunities afforded him by Kevin de Bruyne's long-term injury and starred as the creative force of Pep Guardiola's all conquering Manchester City last season.
The Portuguese international made 51 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and assisting 14 times as Manchester City completed an unprecedented sweep of a domestic treble.
In the Premier League, Silva was also instrumental, making 36 appearances, scoring and assisting seven each, while also creating 10 big chances and sliding 10 through balls for his teammates.
His form saw him named Manchester City Player of the Year, as well as voted into the PFA Team of the Season, and he finds himself one of the forerunners for the 2019 Ballon d'Or even though FIFA did not deem it fit to include him in their shortlist of 10 best players.
Bernardo Silva is blessed with close control, one-touch passing ability and dribbling in tight spaces, which are all traits Pep Guardiola admires in midfielders and as such, the 24-year-old is set to reprise his role from last season albeit to a lesser extent owing to the return to fitness of Kevin de Bruyne.
#2 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)
Christian Eriksen has hit double figures in terms of assists in each of the last four seasons, with his personal best of 15 coming at the end of the 2016/2017 season when he finished only behind the 18 posted by Kevin de Bruyne.
The Danish international is a playmaker of the highest quality, and is blessed with vision and passing ability, while he is also a decent threat from set-pieces.
In 206 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Christian Eriksen has scored 49 goals and assisted 60 times, while also creating 70 big chances and threading 110 through balls for his teammates.
However, for a player of his ability, the 27-year-old is criminally underpaid at Tottenham, while his trophy haul is also not congruent with his talent level.
It therefore comes as no surprise that he is seeking a new challenge elsewhere, with Real Madrid and Manchester United among those to have made enquiries about him.
#1 Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
There really could only be one player to top this list, as Kevin de Bruyne is the quintessential definition of what it means to be a playmaker.
Indeed, it was fitting that the Belgian international was the first ever recipient of the newly created Premier League Playmaker award, as it was just reward for the extraterrestrial level he has performed at over the years.
Having been discarded by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea at a young age, De Bruyne went on to star for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, prompting a return to the Premier League with Manchester City in 2015.
When it comes to playmaking, there is arguably no one better than De Bruyne (although Messi would have something to say about that), but proof of the Belgian's greatness lies in the fact that in the five years between 2013 and 2018, no one had more assists than De Bruyne in Europe's top five leagues (including Messi).
Adept in the use of both feet, possessing both long and short range passing ability, blessed with vision and the skill to pick out teammates effortlessly, while also having a tireless work ethic that sees him track back to help out with defending; 'KDB' as he is fondly called is almost the embodiment of a complete modern midfielder.
Indeed, he was essentially given a free role as Manchester City embarked on their one-horse race to the 2018 Premier League title, which is saying something, as Pep Guardiola is notoriously meticulous in his preparations and has an assigned role to the last detail for every player in his team.
Only the best of the best (read Messi) are given free roles in Guardiola's teams and for Kevin de Bruyne to have operated in this role is indicative of the premium placed on him by Pep.
For visual representation of what it means to be a playmaker of the highest quality, just browse through de Bruyne's catalogue of 18 assists during City's run to the 2018 title. The number 14 was virtually unplayable at times, and had all manners of assists and passes in his bag that season.
Injury robbed him off playing a key role in City's blitz last season, but having returned to full fitness, KDB would be raring to go and remind everyone just who the king of playmaking is in England.
