Manchester City haven't been at their best this season, but that hasn't stopped Kevin de Bruyne. 

The Belgian has already racked up 18 assists in all competitions and it's easy to see why. 

City's visionary playmaker sees passes that would appear naturally invisible to most human eyes and what's more, he can usually find one of Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero on the end of them. 

In fact, De Bruyne has the most assists not just in the Premier League, but across the top European leagues. 

There should be little debate surrounding the best playmaker in English football right now.

However, it's only natural that the 28-year-old should rack up some pretty impressive numbers by the sheer nature of his position. 

It's arguably been even more eye-catching to witness Trent Alexander-Arnold flying down the right flank and racking up 11 assists for Liverpool. 

The 21-year-old isn't alone in redefining his situation. Transfermarkt have produced a graphic taking a look at the players to produce the most assists in every position across the top European leagues. 

You might expect long-ball maestro Alisson Becker to eclipse the competition in goal, when in fact he is surpassed by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

Others to stand out are Neymar with 10 - not a mind-blowing figure, by any means, but when you consider how many games the Brazilian has missed, it demonstrates what a big impact he's had for PSG when he's been on the pitch. 

On the other side, Jadon Sancho has been in red hot form for Borussia Dortmund. That's despite off-field issues and sections of the German media berating him for his tattoos and holidays. 

It's estimated the XI above would be worth over €1 billion.

And to think, it's only in recent years that we've only truly begun to appreciate the art form of the assist.