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The European footballing season has entered its crunch stage, with the contenders having been separated from the rest of the pack.
The title races are all but over in La Liga, Serie A and the French Ligue 1, as the table-topping teams have established a clear cut lead over the rest of the chasing pack that usurping them would be all impossible.
It is an established fact that goals win matches and while much praise is given to goalscorers, a lot of accolades and acclaim has to also go to assist providers as, without them, most times goals cannot be scored.
These 'assistors' undoubtedly make the job of strikers easier. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at the top six highest assist providers across Europe's top five leagues at the moment.
#6 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 9 assists
Having found playing time hard to come by and Guardiola unable to guarantee him his long term future in the Manchester City setup, the highly rated Jadon Sancho sought a transfer away from The Etihad and was signed by Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.
It was a move which has been highly beneficial to him. In his debut season, he made 12 Bundesliga appearances, scoring one goal and making four assists.
The 18-year-old has however become more established this term, making 19 appearances in the German league, scoring six goals and creating a further nine to help Dortmund sit top of the table.
Sancho's performances saw him named October's Player of the month in Germany, while he is also a serious contender to make it into the team of the season on the back of his strong displays.
One cannot help but wonder why Pep Guardiola let him slip away.
#5 Leroy Sane (Manchester City) - 9 assists
FA Young Player of the year for last season after his scintillating displays helped Manchester City win the Premier League title in emphatic fashion, Leroy Sane has seemingly continued from where he left off.
The 23-year-old showed a lot of promise as a youngster at Schalke 04, leading Guardiola to snap him up in 2016 and the German international has only grown in stature since then.
He started the season rather slowly, finding himself out of the first team picture due to the arrival of Riyad Mahrez, but rather than be deterred, Sane used that as motivation and reestablished himself in the first eleven.
So far this season, he has scored eight goals and provided nine assists from 22 matches, although it is looking highly likely that The Cityzens would be unable to retain their Premier League crown.
#4 Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth) - 9 assists
The 24-year-old has been at Bournemouth since 2013, playing a key role in their promotion to the Championship in his first season.
He gained worldwide fame following his performance in December 2015 when he came off the bench at half-time to inspire a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Liverpool, winning a penalty, scoring the second and providing the assist for the third goal.
So far this season, Fraser has been one of the breakout stars of the Premier League, forming a devastating partnership with Callum Wilson at Bournemouth under Eddie Howe as the Cherries have earned widespread acclaim for their enthralling style of football.
Bournemouth currently lie 12th in the Premier League table and Ryan Fraser has contributed with nine assists and five goals from 23 Premier League matches and if he continues in this form, it is hard to imagine him being at The Vitality stadium much longer.
#3 Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - 9 assists
Joshua Kimmich was brought to the Allianz Arena by Pep Guardiola in 2015, having impressed for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga 2 and he has gone on to establish himself as a key member of both the Bayern Munich and German teams.
He is extremely technical and possesses excellent crossing abilities which prove highly beneficial to his teams when attacking.
Though primarily a right-back, Kimmich's versatility and technicality has seen him deployed in midfield on occasion, and he has discharged his duties in the middle of the park with minimum fuss.
So far this season, the 23-year-old has scored one goal and provided nine assists from 19 matches, as Bayern continue their quest for a seventh consecutive league title, although they currently find themselves six points behind Borussia Dortmund in the league table.
#2 Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - 10 assists
Regularly rated as one of the best players in the world and a potential heir to the throne currently occupied by Ronaldo and Messi, a constant criticism of Eden Hazard has been his unproductivity and inconsistency in front of goal.
Hazard's numbers in the opposition box paled in comparison to other wide players like Bale, Sanchez, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The Belgian seems to have heeded the advice and taken his game a notch higher, starring in a leading role as he skippered his country to third place at the World Cup in Russia for which he won the Silver Ball at the tournament.
He has continued in the same vein for Chelsea, relishing the extra freedom afforded him by Sarri.
The Belgian currently has 10 goals and 10 assists from 22 Premier League matches this season and has already installed himself as one of the forerunners for the 2019 Ballon d'Or owing to his splendid performances.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 10 assists
Is anyone reading this piece realistically expecting any other player to top this list? Lionel Messi has long since established himself as not only arguably the greatest goalscorer and player of all time but also as the most creative player in the history of the beautiful game.
Earlier in the month, the 31-year-old received his award for his record-breaking 5th European Golden Boot and is already leads the way in the race for next year's edition to send his statement of intent to reclaim his pride of place as the best player in the world.
Despite suffering a shoulder injury earlier in the season, Messi returned sooner than expected to lead Barcelona's charge on all three fronts and is currently top of LaLiga's scorers and assists chart, and with La Pulga Atomica in this form, it is hard to see anyone stopping Barcelona.
