If you truly love football, then it’s impossible not to love Rayan Cherki. The Frenchman plays the beautiful game how it should be played with a freedom and personality, which is increasingly rare. Cherki is enjoying an excellent maiden season at Manchester City and he’s developing into an integral player for Pep Guardiola. The 23-year-old stepped up when it mattered most with two assists in the 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a crucial match in the title race.
Cherki’s first assist was a pinpoint cross for Nico O’Reilly before beating two defenders and sliding a perfect pass into Marc Guéhi’s for City’s second to earn Guardiola’s praise. “The numbers are incredible and the quality in the first season in the Premier League,” the Spaniard raved. “He is something unique. He will become an extraordinary player with his mindset and mentality.” Only Bruno Fernandes has registered more assists in the Premier League this season than Cherki and we’ve analysed how his record compares to new signings across the competition’s history.
Most assists in debut Premier League season
We’ve analysed the data to find out which players have provided the most assists in their debut Premier League season. Cherki’s pass to Guehi was his 10th Premier League assist of the campaign and that ranks joint-17th in history. As City still have seven league games remaining, Cherki could feasibly climb the list and even challenge Éric Cantona’s record. As the graphic below illustrates, Cantona registered 15 assists across the maiden Premier League campaign in 1992/93.
