Football writer Sam Cunningham on Manchester City playmaker Rayan Cherki, who has moved level with Bruno Fernandes at the top of the assists chart.
Rayan Cherki is joint-top of the Premier League table for assists after setting up his seventh goal of the season in Manchester City's 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest.
A devilish pass for Tijjani Reijnders in his outstanding performance against Forest moved Cherki level with Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
Most Premier League assists 2025/26
| Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Cherki | Man City | 7 |
| Fernandes | Man Utd | 7 |
| Kudus | Spurs | 5 |
| Xhaka | Sunderland | 5 |
Cherki is teeing up team-mates at an astonishing rate.
At a rate of almost an assist per 90 minutes (0.98), the French star is top of the table across all players who have played a minimum of 450 Premier League minutes.
Most assists per 90 mins in Premier League history
| Player | Season | Mins played | Assists/90 |
| Rayan Cherki | 2025/26 | 644 | 0.98 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cesc Fabregas | 2016/17 | 1,327 | 0.81 |
| Kieran Trippier | 2016/17 | 566 | 0.80 |
| Eyal Berkovic | 2004/05 | 452 | 0.80 |
| Chris Waddle | 1996/97 | 609 | 0.74 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 2023/24 | 1,227 | 0.73 |
| Alberto Aquilani | 2009/10 | 815 | 0.66 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 2019/20 | 2,798 | 0.64 |
| Ryan Giggs | 2001/02 | 1,679 | 0.64 |
| Arjen Robben | 2004/05 | 1,258 | 0.64 |
| Faustino Asprilla | 1995/96 | 980 | 0.64 |
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His nearest rivals are Cesc Fabregas in 2016/17, with 0.81 assists per 90, Kieran Trippier in the same season, with 0.80, and Eyal Berkovic, also on 0.80, in 2004/05.
We are witnessing greatness with Cherki this season.
Watch all SEVEN of Cherki's assists
And he does not look like slowing down.
It was supposed to be nearly impossible for Pep Guardiola to find the next De Bruyne, the midfielder who left for Napoli in the summer as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.
Yet the early signs are pointing in that direction for Cherki after his first five months at City.
His team-mates are already making those anticipatory runs, trusting that Cherki will get the ball to their feet.
“Cherki knows how to find those passes,” Reijnders told TNT Sports after the Forest win. “He is very good; he finds spaces and when he gets the ball you have to be ready and in position.”
A creative force from open play
Cherki is exceptional at locating those pockets of space centrally and then finding his team-mates in tight positions with intricate passes.
All seven of his assists have come from the middle channel of the pitch – no wider than the width of the penalty area – with an element of unpredictability: three have been inside the box, four outside.
Delve deeper into Cherki’s playmaking this season and the Frenchman particularly stands out when it comes to assists from open play. Several of Fernandes’ assists have come from set-pieces, whereas all of Cherki’s have arrived from open play, placing him two ahead of Mohammed Kudus for open-play assists.
Cherki, meanwhile, is also third, on 3.92, for Expected Assists (xA) in 2025/26 – behind only Fernandes, with 4.11, and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, on 3.95.
It's heady company for a 22-year-old playing in only his first season in the top flight following a move from Lyon.
Eyes on a place in top 10 for most assists in a season
It remains a big “if”, but if Cherki continues at this relentless goal-creating rate, he could push for a place in the top 10 for assists in a single season by registering 16 or more.
The table features players like Eric Cantona, Fabregas, Frank Lampard, Mesut Ozil and Mohamed Salah, and is topped by the joint-record holders Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry, who both assisted 20 goals in one season.
Most assists in a Premier League season
| Player | Season | Assists |
| De Bruyne | 19/20 | 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Henry | 02/03 | 20 |
| Ozil | 15/16 | 19 |
| Salah | 24/25 | 18 |
| Lampard | 04/05 | 18 |
| Fabregas | 14/15 | 18 |
| Fabregas | 07/08 | 17 |
| Cantona | 92/93 | 16 |
| De Bruyne | 17/18 | 16 |
| De Bruyne | 22/23 | 16 |
At his current rate, you’d expect Cherki to reach at least 14 assists by the end of this season. And with City in all likelihood involved in a title race, combined with the way they have been scoring so freely of late, there will be plenty of goal-creating opportunities for Cherki to come.
It’s worth considering, also, that Henry had only six assists at the halfway point when he totalled 20 in the 2002/03 season.
De Bruyne remains the only Man City player to win the Premier League’s Playmaker award, taking the prize in its inaugural season in 2017/18, and also in 2019/20 and 2022/23.
Can Cherki become the second?
All his assists have come across a stunning two-month period – the first two coming against Bournemouth on 2 November, followed by one against Leeds United, two more versus Sunderland and another against Crystal Palace.
During that time, only Erling Haaland, with eight goals and three assists, and Fernandes, with three goals and six assists, have more goal involvements than Cherki’s seven assists and one goal.
Big month coming up
A defining January will give a clearer picture of how special this campaign can be for Cherki.
City face a tough run, including games against Sunderland, Chelsea, Brighton and Manchester United.
It will certainly help, though, that Cherki’s main focus is setting up his team-mates, rather than trying to score.
"All the time I want to score goals, but it is not my role,” Cherki told Match of the Day. “Erling is here for that! I want to give my team-mates a good pass and I am very proud of that."